Duo Demon
by dani1014
Summary: Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei have been reinstated as Spirit Detectives to retrieve King Enma's music box. They soon find that they will encounter many more obstacles upon meeting Rennie Raindraver, a spirited, yet kind, "Double Demon." HieiXOC
1. Prologue: The Boys Are Back In Town

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Rennie Raindraver is my very own.

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><p><em>Rain fell heavily onto the lands of the Makai. The remnants of a small village sat smoking, the downpour having extinguished the fire that once plagued it. Blood and bodies covered the ground. Twelve hooded figures and a girl holding a young boy's body were all that remained in the aftermath of the destruction. The girl squeezed the boy's body to her own. She knew the twelve figures were there behind her, but she paid them no mind. She didn't care if they were watching.<em>

"_Blaze… Blaze, please don't die," she whispered. When she received no response, her grip tightened and tear droplets fell from her eyes mixing in with the rain. "It'll be okay, Blaze. I'm gonna take you away from here. I'll take care of you." One of the figures shifted, moving slightly towards the girl. Her gaze moved to look at the person over her shoulder._

"_Don't come near me."_

_The stranger paused, seeming to ponder the girl's words, then looked over at another of the cloaked beings. The dark figure's only response was to nod. The young girl observed them, deciding for herself that the nodding figure was the leader. The stranger closest to the girl shrugged and began closing the space between the two of them. The little girl's eyes widened, and she held the boy closer to her body._

"_I said stay away! Get away from us!" _

_As the strange figure reached down towards the boy, a little orb of silver light struck his face. The man snarled and looked straight into the girl's eyes. He ripped his hood off, and the little girl shrank back in fear. She now wished she had never tried to attack the man leering before her. _

_He was so very _frightening_._

_His hair was an unruly dark, _very dark_, black. It was shaggy and reminded the girl of a lion's mane. He had sharp teeth which were bared dangerously in her direction. His sharp canines, however, did not frighten her nearly as much as his eyes. They were a smoldering red and almost seemed to be on fire. _

"_Do you know who I am, little girl?" he growled. _

_She shook her head no. _

"_My name is Cerberus. Do you know why they call me Cerberus?" _

_The girl stared in horror as the man now known as Cerberus began to slowly shift his form. His teeth grew longer and sharper. His shaggy black hair began to grow longer and cover his skin. The girl blinked furiously, finding it hard to believe her own eyes. Cerberus' one mouth had morphed into three mouths filled with sharp teeth. He now had three heads and had turned into a huge demonic dog with six fiery red eyes. Smoke billowed from each of his mouths._

_She suddenly knew why he was called Cerberus. _

_Cerberus began stalking towards her, a murderous glare in his eyes. His three mouths seemed to twist into a simultaneous sadistic grin. Unconsciously, she squeezed Blaze's body against her own, attempting to comfort herself, to quell her own fear. She realized this would most likely be the moment in which she would lose her own life, just like her _

_fellow villagers. _

"_Cerberus." _

_The three-headed demonic beast cringed and turned at the sound of his name. "We came for the boy. Do not kill the girl," the leader of the twelve figures said._

_Cerberus gave a low whine, disappointed at the prospect of not getting to make another kill in his full form. Nevertheless, he reverted back to being a human. The leader and the other ten figures turned to walk away. Grumbling, Cerberus knocked the girl away with one hand and seized the boy. He tossed Blaze over his shoulder and followed after his fellow cloaked figures. _

"_Blaze!" the girl choked out, getting up and chasing after her friend and his kidnappers. Terrified and at a loss, she watched as the figures disappeared in a flurry of black. She dropped to her knees and sobbed. _

"_Blaze!" she wailed. Her little fists punched the ground. As the sun faded into the distance, the smoke from the extinguished fire poured forth from the destroyed roofs of houses. Night befell over the remnants of the village, and young Rennie Raindraver made a silent promise to herself. _

"_I will find you, Blaze."_

[10 Years Later]

The sound of loud, trudging footsteps echoed throughout a long hallway. A boy in a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a blue denim jacket was hurriedly walking down the hall. His green tinted black hair was sleep tousled, and the edges furled up above his ears a bit. His dark brown eyes were wide and full of a sort of excitement. Beside him, floating along on a wooden oar, was a blue-haired girl with pink eyes. She wore a pink kimono and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hey, Botan, are you listening to me? What's going on? I thought I wasn't supposed to be seeing you or Binky Breath until my day of reckoning."

Botan glanced over at her companion. It was the first time she had heard him speak since they'd left the apartment he was living in. His words led her to believe he was irritated, but she could see that he had a wild sort of grin on his face.

"That's correct, Yusuke, but Lord Koenma has a task for you," she replied.

"Well, I guess we better get in there and see what ole Binky Breath has to say." Yusuke smirked.

The Prince of Rekai was sitting at his desk when Yusuke Urameshi and his number one ferry girl burst through the door. "Yo, Diaper Boy! What the heck is going on?" Koenma frowned at the nickname. "Nice to see you as well, Yusuke."

"Urameshi!"

Yusuke whirled in surprise as an orange blur suddenly picked him up off the ground and squeezed him slightly. "Kuwa…bara…" Yusuke gasped out.

"Ah, Kuwabara, if you keep hugging him so tightly, you'll send him to an early grave," a slightly nervous, yet calm voice spoke.

Kuwabara grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right." He let Yusuke go quickly and said boy gulped in air. "Sorry, Urameshi," Kuwabara said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's okay," Yusuke replied, coughing a bit before setting his gaze on a familiar red-head. "Thanks, Kurama." Kurama smiled in return. "It is good to see you, Yusuke."

"Back at you, man. So the gang's all here, huh?"

Kurama's smile turned into a frown. "Not quite."

"What do you-?" Yusuke looked around for a brief moment. "Where's Hiei?" Both Kurama and Kuwabara looked away. The ex Spirit Detective's eyes widened. "Don't tell me…" he trailed off. In response to their unspoken responses, Yusuke clenched his fists. "Who did-?"

However before he could finish his sentence, Yusuke had whirled around to catch the length of a blade in between his thumb and index finger. "Boy, Hiei, you haven't changed one bit."

"Hn. Neither have you, Detective." The fire demon smirked.

Yusuke's head tilted to the side questioningly. "Hey, Hiei, did you get taller?"

"Yeah! The shrimp is your height now, Urameshi! But he'll never be as tall as I am!" Kuwabara interjected and stuck his thumb to his chest in a proud gesture.

"Um, Kuwabara, since Hiei is Yusuke's height, I don't think it makes much sense to refer to him as 'shrimp'," Kurama added.

Kuwabara shrugged. "C'mon, Kurama, the little guy knows I'm kidding with him. It's like a nickname or something."

"Hn. Does that mean your nickname is idiot?"

"HEY!"

"Boys."

The four of them looked towards their former employer. He stared at them with a frown on his face, but they could see the mirth hiding in his eyes. "It's good to see each of you again."

"Even Hiei?" Kuwabara asked with a mischievous smirk on his face. Hiei glared at the orange-haired human standing next to him.

"Yes, Kuwabara, even Hiei." Koenma sighed. "Now as to the reason you are here."

"Yeah, Koenma, what's the big deal? You said I wasn't gonna be seeing you again for a long time," Yusuke interrupted, furrowing his brow.

"I'm getting to it, be patient. Now, it has been two years since I have seen the four of you. In that time, many things have come to pass. One such thing happened two weeks ago. My father's vault was broken into. We don't know who committed the crime. All of our leads have turned into dead ends."

"So the people who gave you your information didn't know what they were talking about?" Yusuke inquired.

"No, our informants turned up dead. Every single one of them were murdered. Now no one will take the job of looking into informative leads." Koenma grimaced.

"That's creepy, Binky Breath. Well, what do you expect us to do?"

"Yes, Lord Koenma, what was stolen?" Kurama asked.

"A music box."

Yusuke's face fell. "A music box," he repeated. "That's so lame! Why can't it ever be something manly and awesome?"

Koenma glared. "This is serious, Yusuke! That music box is dangerous to the lives of humans!"

"That's not a surprise." Yusuke shrugged. "Everything endangers humans."

"Not just humans, Yusuke. Demons and those of us here in Rekai as well are in immediate danger.

"Oh… Wait, who the heck would create such a thing?"

A dark aura suddenly took hold of the atmosphere of the room. Koenma's face darkened, a deep frown set on his lips. Hiei's hand went to the hilt of his katana. Kurama's was clenching a beautiful, yet deadly, rose. Kuwabara and Yusuke's eyes darted around the room.

"Be careful what you say, Yusuke," Koenma said, his own eyes glancing at the now present darkness practically hanging from the ceiling and the walls of his office. "The evil of that artifact has already set here in Rekai. We have a limited amount of time to find it. If it is not found, all three worlds will be encased in a never ending dark coffin. Originally, the music box was created by my father to end a war between Rekai, Makai, and the Ningenkai if it ever began. Its power could be controlled by my father. Thus, he was able to keep its dark power in check. However, I am afraid that whoever has stolen it wishes to end the life of every person in each of the three worlds."

The four boys stared at the young ruler before them.

"So… another person attempting to take over the world…?" Kuwabara asked. His eyes were wide with fear.

"How many times have we saved the world now?" Yusuke sighed.

"Too many," Koenma replied grimly.

"Well, Lord Koenma, where are we being sent?"

Koenma tossed a familiar round compact device towards Yusuke: a communicator. He then snapped his fingers and a portal appeared to the left of the room. "Those of our informants who weren't killed and managed to find a plausible piece of information found a lead in a little bazaar in Makai. We're not sure whether or not the lead is good or bad, but either way, be careful. There is no telling who is friend or foe."

Yusuke and Kuwabara saluted the young prince, and Kurama and Hiei merely nodded. As the four boys were about to jump into the portal, Koenma spoke once more.

"Oh, and boys."

They turned to face him.

"Good luck."

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><p>AN: So, hey everybody! This is my first attempt at an OC story. I've dabbled in the fan fiction business, but my first fan fiction was a parody type thing. I started reading HieiXOC stories recently, and only a few stuck out to me as really good. Hence, I wanted to begin one of my very own. Even though it's short and probably very boring, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please let me know what you thought!<p> 


	2. Demon Days

A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry this chapter took so long. I meant to have it up two and a half weeks ago, but final exams and the holidays made my schedule a bit hectic. Not to mention my computer decided to have an episode. Anyways, I thank everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or whichever holiday or religion that was celebrated! Now I present to you: Chapter Two!

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Rennie Raindraver is my very own.

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><p>The blue portal appeared in Makai, startling several youkai standing nearby. It opened up a short ways from the little demonic bazaar. The four newly reinstated Spirit Detectives stepped through and took in their surroundings. Every demon in the immediate vicinity took notice and began whispering amongst themselves.<p>

"It's Yusuke Urameshi…"

"The Rekai Tantei!"

"Hiei's back…"

"Don't stare too long at the red-head… That's Yoko Kurama…"

"Looks like we're still famous!" Yusuke said loudly, grinning.

"Hey, how come they're so afraid of you guys and I get no recognition?" Kuwabara frowned.

"Because you're still the same baka."

"Shut-up, Hamster Legs!"

Yusuke burst into laughter at his two friend's antics. He had missed his three companions. It had been almost a year since he had seen Kurama and Hiei, and he hadn't seen Kuwabara in about six months. For the first time since reuniting with them, he took in their appearances.

Kuwabara had grown taller by at least four inches. His hair was still in the same greased up style and had turned a bit of a darker orange, making it look more red than anything. His face hadn't changed in any other way than the few lines that had formed under his eyes and around his mouth. He wore a simple outfit consisting of a green t-shirt and blue jeans. He was still the same old Kuwabara.

Kurama had grown maybe an inch or two. His outfit was a little more formal than Kuwabara's. He wore khaki pants and a white t-shirt with a magenta colored jacket, which reminded Yusuke of the fox demon's old school uniform. His red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He looked the same way he had when Yusuke last saw him, if not more mature and wise.

Hiei was the same as ever. He still wore his usual black garments and the bandana covering his Jagan. The same stoic expression graced his facial features. His eyes were the same deep crimson red, and they seemed to be a bit darker in color. Hiei's only noticeable change was the fact that he was taller. Yusuke had grown a couple of inches. He was now 5'6", and the fire demon easily stood at the detective's height. Yusuke chuckled to himself.

"Hey, Urameshi, what're you laughin' for?" Kuwabara asked as the four boys passed under the large archway that served as the entrance to the bazaar. Demons watched from behind their stands. Some of them glared while others grinned openly. There was an amount of respect for the Rekai Tantei in Makai, but there was also some hatred and fear.

"Aw, nothin', Kuwabara. Don't worry about it. I was just thinking of how little we've changed," Yusuke replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Well, it has only been one year," Kurama responded thoughtfully.

"Feels like yesterday we were in the Dark Tournament fighting Toguro and his lackeys…" Kuwabara trailed off.

Following his statement, the four spent a moment of silence thinking of their past endeavors. They thought of how close they had come to failure during certain missions. Yusuke remembered the fear he had felt from his confrontation with Toguro, and he remembered the way he had felt when Kawabara "died." The other three were thinking of when they had watched Yusuke die at the hand of Sensui.

Finally, they recalled how they each had been so suddenly tossed together.

"Man. Has it really been six years since we met?" Yusuke pondered aloud, crossing his arms behind his head.

Kuwabara nodded, then yelped as he was shoved from behind unexpectedly. Two demon children were cackling as they ran away from the boys. "Hey! Watch where you're going, you crazy kids!" Kuwabara shouted, shaking his fist madly in the air.

"Seems they realized you are human, Kuwabara."

"Tch. Little pranksters."

"Either that or they figured out he's an idiot."

"Shut-up, Hiei!" Kuwabara grit his teeth. "I'm already tired of you and the sound of your voice!"

"The feeling is mutual, oaf."

A light ringing noise filled the air, interrupting the sounds of busy exchanges between demons. Yusuke pulled the communicator out of his pocket and opened it. On the tiny screen was no other than Koenma. "Yo. What's up, Koenma?" the leader of the Spirit Detectives asked.

"I thought I would inform you four of the destination you are heading for."

For the first time in a year, the boys felt like complete idiots due to the lordling's insolence.

Yusuke glared at the tiny screen. "You haven't changed at all, Binky Breath. Leaving out information seems to be your specialty."

"Yes, well, if you hadn't jumped so suddenly into the portal, maybe I could have given you the information you needed," Koenma scolded. "Now, given your current location in the bazaar, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to find the demon's pub known as The Severed Head. Kurama, Hiei, I'm sure you are familiar with it?"

The two demons nodded. "Yes, Yomi sends me there to meet with his associates on occasion," Kurama answered. "As does Mukuro," Hiei added.

"Good, very good," the prince said, "then it shouldn't be too hard to locate. When you get there, look around for anything suspicious; listen for tips. Do whatever seems necessary to retrieve the music box, but _try_ to keep it secret."

"You got it." Yusuke grinned, snapping the communicator shut.

They continued walking through the bazaar, but this time they did so silently. The silence was spent searching for The Severed Head. With Kurama and Hiei's help-the kitsune gave most of the directions-the boys easily maneuvered throughout the streets of the bazaar. All too soon, it seemed, they reached their destination.

The Severed Head was potentially the creepiest thing Kazuma Kuwabara had ever seen in his entire life. Or so he thought. It was a small, dark looking building made of bones. Kuwabara couldn't decide if they were human or demon bones and thought to himself that he really didn't want to know. The pub had a sign hanging from the roof over the doorway with a decapitated demon holding its own head. The door and the bones were stained with blood.

"Well, this sure looks homey," Yusuke spoke sarcastically.

"Indeed. It is a very… strange looking piece of art," Kurama said, understand what his companion was implying.

"Piece of art? Piece of art?" Kuwabara repeated, "what are you talkin' about Kurama? This place is a piece of junk! It's a _creepy_ piece of junk!"

Several demons loitering around outside of the pub looked into the human's direction. Kuwabara glanced at them, and he tried not to shrink back in slight fear. Instead, he opted to put on his bravest face and glare. This turned out to not be a very well thought out plan, for the youkai then proceeded to burst into laughter and walk away down the bazaar's dirt road. His spirits dampened, the young spirit sword wielder hung his head and groaned.

"Why is it that I'm always the one who gets laughed at? I feel like all I'm any good for is producing comedy relief."

"Cheer up, Kuwabara." Kurama patted him on the back. "The demons around here aren't very… impressionable."

"Don't sugar coat it, Fox. The oaf is a weakling. His energy could only faze the lowest class of demons," Hiei interjected.

"Why I oughta!"

"Now, now, children." Yusuke sighed. "We have a mission to handle. So let's get inside this place and start snooping for clues."

"Did you really just say 'snooping', Urameshi?"

"Yes, I did, and don't you forget it."

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><p>The boys had decided to sit at a little table in the darkest corner of the pub. Inside, the building had more "creepy" décor, as Kuwabara put it. There was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling over the center of the room constructed completely of bone. A black marble fountain which gushed blood from the open mouth-was it screaming?-of a human was placed under the chandelier. Yusuke thought Kuwabara was going to attack Hiei when said fire demon made a comment about how the young ningen's head would soon replace the black marble one. Many youkai occupied the numerous tables and booths inside the building. Set up next to the bar was a black piano. Its keys played by themselves.<p>

A young, female demon approached them soon after they were seated. She had the tail and ears of a dog. They were brown with little shades of black, reminding Yusuke of a German Shepard. The young detective could not help but notice the girl's skimpy outfit. It consisted of a white button up shirt and a red and black plaid skirt. A black tie was wrapped around her collar. He assumed it was the uniform of the pub.

"Can I get you boys anything?" she asked, putting on her best smile and eyeing the red-headed fox demon sitting next to Yusuke.

He nudged Kurama with his elbow, giving him a wink. Kurama simply smiled and shook his head at his perverted companion. "I'll have a water. What about you three?" Kuwabara and Yusuke both shrugged and ordered a water as well. Hiei merely nodded, not even sparing the waitress a glance.

As she sauntered away, Yusuke raised his eyebrow at the fox demon sitting next to him. "She was flirting with you, man. You can't tell me you didn't notice any of that. You, the wisest of all of us."

Kurama chuckled. "Yes, I assure you, my friend, I noticed. However, we do not have the time for trivial things such as flirting. We have to listen for information, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Yusuke said, waving his hand back and forth.

The waitress soon returned with their four waters and managed to slip a piece of paper under Kurama's napkin before she began walking back towards the area behind the bar. The kitsune sighed and took a sip of his drink. Kuwabara and Yusuke snickered to themselves and made "awwing" noises at their friend. Hiei smirked, finding the whole situation somewhat amusing. Kurama gave them each a lighthearted glare before reminding them, once again, what they were in the pub for.

The four of them grew serious at once. Both spirit sword and spirit gun wielders glanced around the room, tuning in their ears to other demons' conversations. Kurama closed his eyes and held his glass up to his lips. Hiei stared at the chandelier in a bored fashion, but he listened in on each youkai's thoughts. They may have sat there for an hour, maybe longer. Yusuke and Kuwabara were convinced it was longer. This was mostly because of the fact that they were beginning to get uncomfortable from having been sitting for so long.

Each of them were starting to think the pub was a dead end when a sudden slip of the tongue caught their attention.

"Hey, have you guys seen the big treasure trove they keep in the back of this place?" one demon whispered to another.

His buddy nodded and looked around, trying to decide if anyone was listening before he spoke. "Yeah, there's no telling what kinda items they've got from Rekai and Ningenkai back there… Not to mention that big dra-"

"Ssshh! Hush! No one needs to hear about that."

"Sorry. Didn't know that part was such a secret," the other demon replied sarcastically as he and his friend walked out of the pub.

"Did you hear that?" Kuwabara asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, looks like we need to search that 'treasure trove' they've got in the back." Yusuke nodded.

"Now wait a minute, you two," Kurama began, "we don't even know if this is a true lead. It could just be a coincidence. It might even be a trap."

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders. "C'mon, Kurama. Where else are we gonna hear about a room filled with treasure from _Rekai_? I mean, really? We can do this."

Kuwabara nodded vigorously. "Yeah, let's do it, Kurama."

Kurama could only glance at Hiei.

The fire demon narrowed his eyes at the three other people seated with him at the table. "If something happens, do not expect me to stick around to save the three of you."

"Aw, Hiei, you do care!" Yusuke smiled. "All right, you three, let's go see if we can find a back entrance to this place."

His three companions nodded, and the four of them stood up together. They made their way to the entrance and stepped through. Right about the minute they were turning the corner to search the back of the building, the waitress was swooping by the table they had been sitting at. She collected the tip that was left for her and the piece of paper as well. She sighed in disappointed as she opened it, seeing that the only thing on it was her own handwriting.


	3. Help Is On the Way

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Rennie Raindraver is my very own.

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><p><strong> Chapter Three: Help Is On the Way<strong>

The dirt path in front of The Severed Head was full of bustling demons. Each of them were staring at the many goods the different stands of the bazaar held. Demonic merchants called out prices and specials. A fight broke out in front of a stand offering weaponry of the finest quality. The many demons involved in the scuffle would never expect that four Spirit Detectives were behind the pub made of bones searching for a back door.

Yusuke Urameshi led his companions into the small alleyway in between The Severed Head and the small building next door to it. Just ten minutes earlier, they had overheard a conversation between two youkai that revealed the information of a back room full of treasure. Kuwabara and his half demon best friend knew the music box just had to be there. Kurama reluctantly agreed while Hiei scoffed and followed them anyways. Now here they were, standing in front of what they assumed to be the back entrance.

"Do you really think this is it?" Kuwabara whispered. He really had no need to whisper considering the amount of noise coming from the fight outside of the alleyway. However, he did so anyway for the dramatic effect.

"Its gotta be. Otherwise, this place is a dead end. Literally." Yusuke scrunched up his nose.

Hiei rolled his garnet colored eyes at the detective's poor joke.

Kurama frowned. "Yes, well, how do we get inside?"

The four of them stared at the door before them. It looked to be made of some sort of iron substance and was covered in rusted chains. A weak looking padlock with a rusted keyhole was its only other line of defense. The bones it was encased in were surprisingly clean compared to the other many skeletal remains.

Kurama tilted his head to the side. 'Strange… One would think that a room filled with treasure would be something they would want to keep out of the obvious sight of others and with better defenses too. I have a funny feeling about this whole ordeal…' Although he felt suspicious, Kurama decided to keep his thoughts to himself. After all, he could just be over thinking it. Perhaps his year away from detective work had made him too cautious. His attention was drawn back to the weak-looking padlock. He watched as Yusuke held it in the palm of his right hand.

"Well, this thing has seen some better years," the detective said, analyzing the characteristics of the lock. "Hey, Kuwabara, ya think you can break this thing and the chains off with your sword?"

Kuwabara smirked and rubbed the space between his nose and upper lip with his forefinger. "Of course I can! Finally! A chance for the great Kazuma Kuwabara to once again show off his amazing abilities!"

"Hn. More like amazing stupidity."

"CAN IT YOU PIPSQUEAK!"

"Shut it! You're gonna blow our cover, Kuwabara!"

"Sorry, Urameshi." Kuwabara shrugged and held his hands almost clasped together in front of him. "Spirit Sword!" Orange light burst from his hands and shaped into the always familiar sword. He raised it slightly above his head and brought it down, slashing the padlock and the chains in one sweep. They fell to the ground with a _clank!_ and the rusted pieces disintegrated into dust. The iron door opened with a barely audible creaking sound, revealing an extremely dark room. The four boys stared into the dark void, attempting to make out some form of light.

"Well, I guess we better go in and face whatever weird thing lives in the dark…" Kuwabara gulped.

"Eh. You're a lot scarier than anything that could possibly live in there, Kuwabara." Yusuke grinned his signature cheesy grin and stepped through the door into the darkness.

"What!" Kuwabara sputtered, glaring. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

Kurama chuckled. "Judging by the sound of his laughter, I'd say so."

Hiei closed his eyes and smirked in amusement. "Hn."

"What? But guys! C'mon! It's not really that funny! Right, Kurama?" The kitsune merely smiled and stepped into the darkness after Yusuke. "Aww, c'mon! Even you Hiei?" The fire demon ignored him and followed after the fox and the detective. Kuwabara sighed, a frown gracing his features. "I knew it… All I am is comedy relief." His shoulders slumped; he could only follow his companions' example and make his way into the darkness of the room.

The complete and utter darkness the four boys were greeted with seemed unnatural. Not only was it dark but also incredibly cold. Yusuke and Kurama could hear Kuwabara's teeth chattering. "A-any o-one g-got a l-light?" he asked through the stutter caused by the frigid temperature that coated over his skin. He could feel goosebumps and couldn't help but think if he didn't find some warmth soon, he would freeze to death. A light orange flame engulfed a small mass of area in the vicinity around the boys.

"Thanks, Hiei."

"Hn. It was only so the fool would be quiet."

Kuwabara chose to enjoy the new burst of warmth rather than to retaliate. With the small flame lighting up the room, he and Kurama could now see that it wasn't an empty storage building. There were tables and crates full of glasses and plates sitting against the walls. A broken chandelier was laying in one of the corners. No doubt it had hung from the ceiling of the tavern once upon a time. An old piano sat against another wall. Its keys were broken. Some of them were resting on the floor, dusty and long forgotten.

"Hey…" Yusuke said spoke softly, his voice breaking them out of their observations.

The others turned towards his voice, searching for his form using the bit of light the flame was giving off. They were not used to the soft tone he had taken. Normally, he was rather loud and cocky, showing off his signature grin. Instead of all that, he was staring at the floor with an empty expression.

"What is it, Yusuke?" Kurama was the first to voice his concern.

"This place is empty."

"What?"

Hiei expanded the flame held in his open palm. The young detective spoke the truth. Too occupied with staring at the tables and other items, they had forgotten the real thing they were supposed to be looking for, momentarily. There was nothing valuable. No treasure. No priceless items. No music box.

"Maybe it is a trap," Yusuke said, a frown on his face. "I can't believe I fell for it! After all this time, I've lost my touch. I'm sorry Kurama… I should've listened."

The young, red-haired man stared at his friend. He could see the dejected look on Yusuke's face. "It's all right, Yusuke. You were following your instincts." He smiled at his black-haired companion. "If this was a trap, they would have attacked us by now."

Yusuke realized he was right, and he nodded. "Then what do we do? If this isn't the storage room those demons were yapping about, where is it?"

"Maybe there's some kind of secret door, and they used it to take away all the treasure." Kuwabara tilted his head to the side; his eyes gazed around the dimly lit space.

"Demons of their class aren't quick enough to accomplish something so great," Hiei commented in a bored tone.

"Kuwabara might be onto something." The three others glanced over at Kurama.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked.

"Think about it. Our demon friends are apparently more quick-witted than we originally assumed."

"I'm not following you." Yusuke stared at his fox friend with an exasperated look.

Kurama smiled. "If you were a treasure that is reputably known to hold as much wealth as those two demons were discussing, where would you be hidden?"

"A place that's not obvious, of course."

"Exactly. They would hide it in a hidden place, like a trap door or a secret room. When we heard those two demons talking about it, they spoke of it as if it was just a rumor. They did so on purpose without realizing it."

"What a second, Kurama, how could they do it on purpose without knowing it? Ugh. I'm so confused!" Kuwabara groaned while rubbing his temples.

The red-head smirked slightly. "Think of it as false advertising. The demons we saw were spreading information. Chances are they continued their conversation after they left The Severed Head. As they walked the streets of the bazaar, their discussion would most likely have been overheard by thieves and the like. Then, just like we did, the thieves would have broken into this room, only to find it empty. Upon their findings, the thieves would leave and spread around their knowledge…"

"Which would leave it to seem as if the treasure really was just a rumor!" Kuwabara exclaimed excitedly and Kurama nodded.

"So, all we gotta find is this secret room, eh?' Yusuke grinned. "All right, then. Let's start searching the walls and the floors!"

So with new determination, Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara began feeling along the walls while Hiei provided the light. Upon finding no creases or hollow places, they moved to searching the floor. "If it's not in the floor…" Kurama began, his fingers moving nimbly along the coolness of the stone floor, "then the only other place to check is the ceiling."

"Then let's hope it's not up there," Yusuke said, "or else we'll have to stand on top of one another to reach it."

"Yeah, if that happens, Hiei won't be any help," Kuwabara muttered, only to shriek and flail about when his shirt caught fire. "I would watch what you blabber out loud, you baka."

"Kuwabara! Stop screaming! You're gonna get us cau-ahh!" Yusuke was suddenly cut off, and the others turned to find him gone.

"Urameshi!"

"Down here…" came the muffled reply.

The three who remained on the top floor followed the source of their companion's voice. With the light emanating from Hiei's palm, they could see a large hole in the floor of the storage room. It took up a good portion of the center of it. From what they could make out, Yusuke had come across the part of the stone that was weakest and made more of grass than stone. So, he fell when he added his weight to the already sensitive area.

Kuwabara stepped towards the edge tentatively. "Urameshi?" he called. "You okay?"

"Just peachy… I wouldn't recommend getting to close to the side… That wasn't a very nice way to meet the ground…" They could see their leader getting up off the ground he had landed on, rubbing his backside. He winced in pain. "That's gonna leave a mark. Hey! I think I see a light down here!" He pointed in the direction he was facing while looking up at his teammates.

"We'll be right down!" Kurama pulled a seed out of the pocket on the front of his jacket. He set it at the edge of the hole, and they watched as the seed sprouted into a vine. It scaled on down the length of the wall leading from the hole's entrance. The fox demon took hold of it and began climbing down. Kuwabara and Hiei followed after, and soon they were all standing with Yusuke. He pointed towards the end of the tunnel they now stood in, and there before them was the soft glow of a light. A grin broke out on Kuwabara and Yusuke's faces. They both patted Kurama on the back to which he smiled in response, and Hiei nodded at the former thief he called his friend.

"Well, we better investigate," Yusuke whispered. "Let's get this show on the road."

The four of them trudged on through the dark of the tunnel, following the bit of light glowing at the end of it. They used the brightness flaring from Hiei's palm to watch where they were walking, and they definitely felt fortunate for it when they happened upon a dark abyss waiting for any trespassers who made it that far. Kuwabara gulped as he jumped across it. At the bottom was a multitude of spikes. Some corpses lay in the pit, remnants of thieves who unexpectedly fell to their deaths. Throughout the tunnel, they counted several more pits riddled with spike death traps. The each stepped lightly, not wanting to set off anything. Finally, they came to their goal. Yusuke held up a hand, signaling his small group to stop. He peeked out of the cover and darkness of the tunnel and gazed at the room before him.

"Guys… I think we found what we were looking for," he said, turning back to face them with a grin on his face.

One by one, they surged from the tunnel into the adjoining room. The sudden brightness caused them to shield their eyes. Slowly, hands fell from their eyes, and when they could see their surroundings…

They were utterly amazed.

The room was humongous, possibly bigger than Koenma's palace. It was filled with treasure; filled with gold, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and anything else one could imagine. Giant golden pots held pearls and other golden trinkets. Gold coins littered the ground so heavily that one could not find the floor.

Even though he had already glimpsed it, Yusuke couldn't help his jaw dropping at the sight of it all. "Holy freaking cow." Kuwabara began giggling uncontrollably and plopped down on a pile of gold coins. He lay back and commenced into making a "gold angel." Kurama glanced at Hiei and the fire apparition copied the fox's actions. They both had that old mischievous glint in their eyes.

"All right, all right!" Yusuke exclaimed, wiping a bit of drool off of his chin. "We came here looking for a music box, not to lose our heads at the sight of all this stuff. Let's get searching!"

"Aww, but Urameshi, it's all so beautiful! I could use this stuff to pay for college! And I could give my lovely Yukina one of those gems! Although none of this stuff could ever compare to her beauty… But still!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Okay, okay. If we find the music box, we'll take some treasure back with us."

Kuwabara shouted with jubilation and began digging through piles of gold. His companions followed suit soon after. For a time, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of treasure clinking and clanking about. Kuwabara found it somewhat overwhelming to rifle through the piles upon piles of heavy treasure. Yet he did not stop. If anything, the thought made him dig through everything quicker. He wanted to find the music box so he could take a gem to his beautiful Yukina. He wanted to see her eyes light up in happiness. He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't notice the sudden change in color from gold to red. So when his hand touched a cold, but different texture than that of the treasure, he yelped and jumped away in shock. Kurama, who stood closest to the spirit sword wielder, responded to his distress before anyone else. "Kuwabara?"

"There's something under the treasure," he whispered in reply. He was scared, he couldn't deny that. However, he was mostly scared that whatever was under the gold had heard him and would soon be upon them.

"What are you talking about?" Kurama pressed gently, while offering a hand to help his friend up. But Kuwabara was too frozen to notice. Yusuke and Hiei had joined Kurama in standing around their orange-haired comrade.

"Hey, Kuwabara," Yusuke began waving his hand in front of Kuwabara's face, "hello-o? Earth to orange-top. You in there?"

"Guys, be quiet," Kuwabara said quietly, "we're not alone in here."

Kurama and Yusuke stared at him quizzically. Hiei scanned the perimeter with his third eye but didn't find anything. "Hey, buddy," Yusuke spoke softly, touching his best friend on the shoulder, "you're imagining things. It's just us here. You're probably feeling paranoid about getting caught."

"No, it's-."

But Kuwabara was cut off by the sudden start of the shaking of the floor. The gold trinkets could be heard trembling, and the coins littering the floor skittered about from the vibrations. The boys could scarcely hold their footing. A flash of glittering red caught their attention. Kuwabara's eyes widened. A flashback colored black and white occurred in his thought process.

_"Yeah, there's no telling what kinda items they've got from Rekai and Ningenkai back there… Not to mention that big dra-"_

_"Ssshh! Hush! No one needs to hear about that."_

_"Sorry. Didn't know that part was such a secret."_

A roar obliterated the once peaceful silence. "Guys!" Kuwabara shouted. "Guys it's a dragon! _IT'S A DRAGON!_"

The four of them stared at the new nightmare now gracing their presence. It was a beastly thing, ever the essence of a dragon. Its skin was a dark, dark scarlet, and it had molten gold eyes. They were as gold as the treasure scattered throughout the room. Ivory spikes lined its spinal cord, deadly and definitely sharp. It bared its teeth, and they could see sparks pouring from the corners of its mouth.

Kurama's rose whip was suddenly in his hands, and Hiei had drawn his katana. Yusuke's index finger and thumb unconsciously flexed into the shape of a gun while Kuwabara's Spirit Sword glowed a faint orange in his grasp. The mighty dragon's tail rose and crashed back down onto the floor. Treasure was thrown up into the air from the force. Hiei and Kurama jumped to dodge the shock to the ground. Yusuke barely managed to avoid the shockwave. Unfortunately, Kuwabara was caught by it and sent tumbling to the treasure covered floor.

Kurama and Hiei both reappeared above and below the dragon. The rose whip imbedded itself in red scales and tore away iron-hard flesh. Blood poured from a punctured vein in the monster's belly. Hiei's katana dug under the spikes lining the spinal column and ripped them forth, one by one. The great beast sounded an earsplitting roar and swatted at the duo attacking him with his claws and spiked tail. Kuwabara ran towards the creature and summoned four spirit swords, two for each hand, and used them to stab into the dragon's legs. Yusuke got as close as he dared and leapt up to the monster's face. A blue light of immense magnitude and power burst from his fist as he yelled, "SHOTGUN!" His spirit energy took the form of a phoenix and collided with the dragon's head, its spirit talons scratching at the red beast's eyes. Yusuke smirked and marveled at the image.

Red versus blue. Freaking beautiful.

Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara rejoined Yusuke's side and waited for any sign of retaliation. Bleeding and terrifyingly magnificent, the dragon still stood, its head raised in defiance. It seemed to smirk at them as its eyes glittered with malice. From behind them came the sound of a low groaning sound, but it seemed very loud. When they turned to face it, they knew why. Fifty or so cultivated humans surrounded them, blocking the entrance they had come through and any means of escape. The sorry looking green bodies with seaweed like hair shuffled towards them.

"What the hell?" Yusuke blurted in genuine surprise. "What are those things doing here?"

"No time to wonder! Fight!" yelled Hiei in an uncharacteristic way. He moved his body into a crouched stance and took after them, slicing one after the other with his katana. Kurama moved through a crowd of them swiftly and planted several seeds of the Death Plant in their bodies. Kuwabara and Yusuke stood back to back, channeling their spirit energy into their fists and punching the mindless beings. The dragon looked on, his wounds slowly healing themselves. The spikes torn from his spinal column were replaced by newer, sharper ones. He growled upon noticing all of the cultivated humans had been struck down. The four boys stood facing the beast again, and they watched as the dragon's eyes flicked behind them. A deep growl mixed with a chuckle came from his throat. Flames poured from the edges of his mouth as he did so.

The plant-like humans had risen. Of course the heroes knew that it was going to be much more difficult to kill them. However, the fact that the dragon chose that moment to smash its tail into the ground again kept them from finishing the job. Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke dodged it and went one way. Kuwabara rolled to avoid it and was separated from his companions on the other side of the red giant. Its attention was on him and unluckily so was the attention of the false humans. Before he could react, the green monsters had grabbed him and were holding him down. The dragon's lips curled back and its teeth glinted as its mouth opened. A red-orange flame was glowing in the back of his throat.

"Kuwabara!" Kurama shouted.

"Get out of there!" Yusuke screamed, but he knew that Kuwabara was trapped by the cultivated humans and couldn't move. He watched as he fought furiously to set himself free. It all was going by so fast. What could he do…? "Hang on Kuwabara!" He lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger with his thumb facing up. "SPIRIT GUN!" The blue light flared forward and Yusuke smirked in triumph as it came in contact with the dragon's mouth.

And then his eyes widened in shock.

His spirit energy mixed in with the flame, increasing its size. Hiei started unraveling the bandages on his right arm as quickly as possible. Kurama's hair ghosted silver. Kuwabara could only watch in horror while the flame was released from the dragon's mouth. He was scared, so very scared. He knew he was going to die. How could he have been so weak? Hiei was right… He was the weakest of the group. '_Yukina_…'

The flaming sphere made contact, sending several of the cultivated humans flying in different directions and burning a few others to a crisp. Smoke and dust filled the air in the vicinity of where Kuwabara had been. Yusuke's mouth opened in a silent scream of anguish. '_It all happened so fast…_' The young detective clenched his fists and started charging the nightmare who had taken his friend. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Yusuke, wait!" Kurama grabbed him before he could get too far. Yusuke Urameshi turned to face the demon fox with angry and hurt filled eyes. Kurama pointed towards the now clearing smoke, and Yusuke found he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Behind the smoke veil glimmered a silver shield, and inside the shield, a girl stood in front of a fully alive Kuwabara holding a silver staff with intricate designs. He was guarding his face with his arms like that would have protected him. Reality set in, and he peeked out from the slight defense his limbs had offered. The strange girl had silver hair and wore a white outfit with silver trim that reminded him of a Grecian toga. Silver sandals were laced up around her calves. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice hinted surprise and a bit of leftover fear.

She glanced at him over her shoulder with silver eyes. "Are you all right?"

He nodded and waited for an answer, but he never received one. The only thing he was given was the sound of another roar. The dragon was enraged. The girl had stopped his attack with a mere barrier. A weak, little shield! His tail whipped about and managed to slam into the wall above the only entrance and exit. Rocks tumbled down in front of it. Another fireball released itself from his mouth and encased the area the girl and Kuwabara held. More mindless beings burst into flame. Yet the spirit sword wielder and silver clad girl went unharmed. The flame disintegrated into red glitter when it touched the barrier.

Silver eyes glared down the red beast in a sort of defiant determination. "No matter how much power you exert, you will never harm me or Kuwabara."

"H-how do you know my name?" he asked, rising to his feet in order to stand beside her.

She smiled at him. "Thank, Koenma." The grip she had on her staff tightened, and she turned her gaze once more to the dragon. "We will have to be quick if we wish to escape."

"But there's no way out!"

"Just trust me, okay?" she said. "Call to Yusuke and the others."

Kuwabara stared at her for a minute, and then he shrugged and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Urameshi! You guys okay?"

"Fine, Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled in return, sighing in relief. He could barely hear his own voice over the sound of the dragon thrashing its tail and stomping about. He knew it was only a matter of time until it went into a blind rage. They were lucky that it had burned up the cultivated humans on its own. They were also lucky that Kuwabara was still alive. "What's going on!"

"Silver chick here says we need to get outta here!"

"Well freaking duh!" Yusuke rolled his eyes and then muttered, "I could've told him that…"

"There is no exit, Kuwabara!" Kurama shouted, adding his way into the conversation. There was a silence that was most likely contributed to Kuwabara relaying the message.

"Feh, at this rate, those weaklings will end up eaten," Hiei scoffed, frowning.

"So why don't we get our butts over there to Kuwabara and that chick and help out?" Yusuke grinned.

"Hn," was all Hiei replied with, and then he was gone, quick as lightning. Kurama and Yusuke followed after, dodging the spiked tail of the dragon as it came towards them. It started snapping its teeth closely behind them, nearly catching Yusuke's foot in its jaw. The silver shield was right ahead of them, with Kuwabara inside of it beckoning with his hands for them to hurry up. Hiei was already there, and Kurama had stepped inside a second before Yusuke rolled in as the dragon's teeth snapped behind him.

A third fireball, this one filled with severe amounts of power, pounded into the barrier causing the girl to cringe. "We need to find a way out of here… Right _now_!" she stressed.

"Hey! Over here!" came a voice to the group's immediate left. They looked over and saw a square-shaped hole in the wall. It was big enough for someone to slip through if they were crouching. "There's our exit!" Yusuke smirked. "Let's go!" The silver-haired girl slowly rotated the shield around until her back was facing the hole in the wall. "All right. I'll expand the shield upwards, and you guys run."

"But what about you?" Kuwabara asked. He had only known this girl for all of about ten minutes. However, he was worried. She _had_ saved his life after all.

"Don't worry about me! My mission is to get the four of you out of here! Now go!" she exclaimed, and she raised her staff up over her head with quick forcefulness. The barrier shimmered, pulsed, and spread up towards the ceiling like wildfire. The boys took off as quick as they could to the new escape route. When they had reached it, the girl sighed in relief, lowered her arms, and began slowly backing up. Suddenly, the dragon ceased all movement and so did she.

"Well, well, well, Rennie Raindraver, I haven't seen you in quite some time. What has it been? Four years?"

Rennie's heart skipped several beats. She froze and looked up above the dragon. Her hands clenched tightly around her staff, and she grit her teeth.

"Radinane."

Radinane smirked at her in a way that made her skin crawl. He was a sick, twisted man. His hair was purple and hung about his face in a limp way. His eyes were black and full of crazed excitement. The familiar black cloak that plagued her mind everyday framed his body. "Geheheh, it makes me so happy that you remember me. When you stopped tracking me, I got so very lonely." He placed a hand over his heart as if feigning hurt.

"What are you doing here, Radinane?" Rennie growled. Her hair flashed black for a split second, and Yusuke nudged Kurama. "Did you see that?" They were watching from the exit in the wall. It led to a dark tunnel with some stairs that climbed up.

"Yes, but I want to know who this Radinane fellow is," the fox replied, his eyes narrowing.

The cloaked man's mouth twisted into a sadistic grin, and then he disappeared. Rennie gasped and looked around frantically. She didn't have to look for long as Radinane reappeared directly in front of her. She tried to move away but found that her body was frozen. The purple-haired figure reached forward and cupped her cheek, his thumb on her chin. She flinched, eyes wide with fear.

"You ask why I'm here. Well, I am here because of you, dear girl. You interfered with my darling beast's fun." His grip on her face tightened. "You protected those damnable Spirit Detectives who just _need to die_." His face had closed in on hers and his fingernails were now digging into her skin, drawing blood. "And I absolutely _loathe_ you for it."

A blue light tore through the atmosphere in front of Rennie, and Radinane was gone from her. She looked over at the guys and found Yusuke standing back inside the room. He was holding his hand up in the shape of a gun. The man who she had tracked for two years was floating once again above the dragon, his face taut with anger. "You insubordinate fool!"

"Hey now, I thought this was a nice family reunion," Yusuke spoke sarcastically. Then he glared at Radinane. "I don't know who you are, and honestly, I could care less, but there is a code between men not to hurt a woman. So, you should probably get the hell out of here before I break all your bones."

Rennie's enemy shook with rage. "Just you wait detectives! I'll kill you all!" His maniacal laughter filled the air, and he disappeared along with his pet.

Rennie Raindraver visibly relaxed and stepped lightly over to the boys she had taken a mission to protect, but it was they who had protected her instead. Yusuke placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "You okay?" She nodded and thanked him. He helped her down into the tunnel, and Kurama checked the small puncture wounds that had been left on her face. The fox made a mental note to create a medical salve to heal them. From the end of the new tunnel came that same voice from before, calling them. Standing at the top of the stairs was a familiar face with German shepherd ears and a matching tail.

Kuwabara tilted his head to the side. "Hey, you're that chick from the bar!"

She smiled at them and gave a little salute. "Yep! Azumi Mizushima at your service!"

"How did you get down here?"

"I'll explain as we go, it won't be long until this place is being swarmed by the boss' minions," she stated, and then pointed in the direction past the stairs. When they had joined her, and they started walking, she began to explain her small adventure. "After you guys left, I overheard some locals talking about some kind of ambush in the big treasure archive. I'd never been down here before, but I knew I had to stop you before something terrible happened. The storage room door was open by the time I arrived, and there was a huge hole in the floor. Unluckily for me, I fell through another hole before I could jump down that one." She rubbed the back of her head and spouted a nervous smile. "I'm a bit of a klutz, you see. Anyways, after falling, I continued on through this tunnel it opened up into, and eventually I found a ventilation covering in the wall. When I looked through it, there you guys were, fighting a dragon. I called to you after opening it, and now here we are." By the time Azumi had finished her story, they had exited the long tunnel through the hole she had fallen into beforehand and were once again standing on the now empty streets of the bazaar.

Kurama smiled. "We are forever grateful for your help."

Yusuke and Kuwabara snickered as Azumi blushed and stuttered out a reply. Hiei rolled his eyes for probably the tenth time that day. He had lost count about two hours ago. Rennie proceeded to pull out a communicator given to her by Koenma and pressed a few buttons after opening it. A blue portal appeared in between each of them. Yusuke and the three other boys stepped into it. Rennie turned to Azumi and bowed her head. "Thank you for everything, if not for you, I might have failed the mission I was given. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to find me." The two women smiled at each other, and then the dog demon watched as the double demon disappeared inside the swirling mass of blue.

* * *

><p>Koenma was being yelled at by Yusuke when Rennie materialized in the toddler's office. Kurama and Kuwabara stood behind their fearless leader loyally. Hiei was leaning up against a wall seated in the shadows of the room. "You! Why didn't you tell us there was a friggin' dragon waiting to kill us?"<p>

"A dragon? I had no idea, Yusuke! Now please get out of my personal space before I have you escorted by Botan to Spirit World prison," the lordling said calmly, an irk mark present on his forehead. Kuwabara and Kurama pulled Yusuke away from the prince's desk. Hiei looked on, mostly uninterested, from his shaded corner. Rennie moved forward to stand next to Koenma, and he acknowledged her with a nod. "You're lucky I had a bad feeling and sent Rennie to help you all."

"Hn. I needed no help in destroying that foul beast," Hiei retorted.

"Indeed," Koenma said, a slight mocking tone in his voice. He closed his eyes. "Well, did you find it?"

"No, sir." Kurama frowned. "I'm afraid we failed the mission you gave us."

"Not quite." They looked at the only girl present in the room, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were surprised to find her appearance had changed. Her hair was now brown, and her eyes were blue. She wore blue jeans, a black and white striped t-shirt and a pair of white and black converse. She smiled at them. "You see, you found the music box, but you didn't see it."

"What do you mean?"

"The music box is inside the dragon's heart."

"That is most troubling, then." Koenma furrowed his brow.

"Mm. Radinane was there as well. He took the dragon with him."

Koenma's eyes widened. "Radinane? This is definitely not good! Not good at all!" He went silent, and the boys were left confused in the dark. Before either of them could question their boss, he slammed his fist onto his desk. "All right! Then it's settled! Rennie, you will work with the boys! You must find the music box at all costs!"

"Woah, woah, woah, Binky Breath! We don't even know this girl! She just swooped in and saved us! We didn't even have time to say anything other than 'let's get the hell outta here!' If it wasn't for that Radinane guy showing up, we probably wouldn't have even had a name to call her!" Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest. Although he was grateful to the girl standing across the room for saving each of them, he was still angry at the prince of Rekai for almost getting them all killed.

Kuwabara nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The least you can do is introduce us!"

Koenma stared at them with a blank look on his face. "Very well." He sighed. "Boys, this is Rennie Raindraver, and she is known as a Duo Demon."

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><p><strong>AN:** Hey guys! So very sorry for the long, long wait! Please forgive me! Well, there you have it. Rennie has finally-FINALLY!-shown up! I felt so relieved after finishing this chapter, because I was able to bring her into the story. Radinane is also an addition of mine. He is very… twisted and insane to say the least. Are you guys curious? Do you wonder why Koenma and Rennie are so frightened of him? Well, those answers are to come! I, on the other hand, have a question for you guys. When Radinane was described, what kind of power do you all think of him to have? Anyway, I tried making this chapter longer, and started titling them. Without the disclaimer, title, and author's note here, this chapter has a word count of 6,029 words and equals up to roughly fourteen pages on Microsoft Word. So, hopefully you all enjoyed this! Please review!


	4. Come Together

A/N: I am a terrible person… I can't believe I took so long and I'm ashamed of myself for doing so! Dx I won't try to make up any excuses. Honestly, I got lazy with it being summer vacation and all. I also had a bit of trouble writing this chapter down. I would pick up my notebook and read over what I had only to set it aside for a thousandth time. Anyway, I hope you all can forgive me… Again. I don't want to make up a schedule for when I'll update it, because I feel like I wouldn't be able to keep to that schedule, but I digress. College has started back up, which is a good thing for my writing and keeping this updated I hope. When I'm sitting in my classes, my creative juices start flowing. So I'm hoping to update more often before the year is over with. :P Now, on with it!

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Rennie Raindraver is my very own.

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><p>Botan floated along on her oar through the halls of Rekai's palace. She watched with pink eyes as ogres and other ferry girls raced back and forth around her. There was no doubt in her mind that they were all terribly busy. She sighed deeply, sending the blue bangs that lay over her forehead in an upward inflection. Ever since the music box had been stolen away, things in Spirit World had escalated to a severe degree. Rather than ferrying souls, she was more preoccupied with helping Koenma find leads on the instrument of destruction's whereabouts. Her lips twitched into a smile. Even with all the extra work, she had to admit she was more than happy to see the boys again. She had missed the team, all of them. It had been some time since they had all been able to get together.<p>

The blue haired ferry girl jumped, startled by the fact that her oar had bumped lightly into a wall. She laughed nervously. Had she really been that out of it? As she climbed off of her form of transportation and made it disappear, she noticed she had stopped directly before the doors leading into Koenma's office.

"Well now, even on autopilot, I still manage to reach my destination," she said, amused with herself. She touched her hand to the door, prepared to push it open, when she suddenly heard muffled voices from inside.

"…friggin'…waiting…!"

The smile returned, even wider than before. 'Yusuke! They must be back!' Deciding to listen in a bit longer, she pressed her ear to the wood.

"…lucky I had…bad feeling…sent…to help…" came Koenma's voice.

Botan frowned. Who had he sent to help? She began pondering to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't think of anyone else who Lord Koenma would send into the danger the boys had gone into. Although, if Koenma _had _sent someone to help Yusuke and the gang, something really awful must have been waiting for them.

Again, the ferry girl concentrated on listening to the voices coming from inside.

"…right! then…settled! …work with the boys! …find…music box!"

Someone working with the boys? Who?! She had to know! She started to lean on the door with her full weight, and then she retracted. What was she doing? Sneaking about behind the closed doors of the office of _her boss_. All she simply had to do was knock, push the door open, and join in on the conversation. But she couldn't bring herself to interrupt. She stepped toward the double doors again and caught the last few words spoken by the Prince of Rekai.

"Boys…Rennie Raindraver…known as a Duo Demon."

Botan slammed the doors open as soon as the sentence was finished. Three of the boys and Koenma glance over in surprise. The next thing they saw was a blue and pink blur shooting across the room and tackling the young girl dressed in black and white.

"Rennie! Where have you been?! Why didn't you let any of us know you were all right?! You have a communicator don't you?!" Rennie chuckled slightly at the concerned questions and the stream of tears flowing down her friend's face.

"Botan, have you been eavesdropping?" Koenma questioned sternly while the blue haired girl assisted Rennie in standing.

The woman clad in pink rubbed the back of her head. "Eheh… Of course not! I just so happened to hear you mention Rennie's name while I was bringing you…" she paused and thought for a moment. "These papers! Yes, that's right!" A tall stack of paperwork appeared in her hands. She set them on the lordling's desk and watched as they slightly swayed to and fro. Once sure they were steady, she turned back to Rennie. "Where have you been?"

"Searching for leads on Blaze," the double demon replied, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't mean to be away as long as I did… I should have called to let you know how I was doing. I'm sorry."

"Well, it's all right. Just don't do it again!" scolded the deity.

"Yes, ma'am."

The boys stood idly by. One of them was confused, one was curious, and another could honestly care less. Kuwabara, being confused and curious, couldn't help but raise his hand. Koenma took notice and sighed. "Kuwabara, this isn't a classroom, but yes, what is it?"

"Well, uh, you called Rennie a, uh, a Duo Demon… What exactly is that?"

"Yeah, care to explain, Binky Breath?" Yusuke added.

Kurama and Hiei waited silently. They had heard rumors of the things called "double demons" in Makai before. However, neither of them had come face to face with one. Nor did they know much about the species.

Koenma blinked. "Oh, right, I'd almost forgotten to explain."

Yusuke's face fell. "Really? You just introduced us, and you've already forgotten something?"

The prince glared heatedly. "Your attitude isn't needed, Yusuke. Now, where do I begin? A Duo Demon, more commonly known as a double demon in Spirit World and the Demon Plane, is a being who has two other souls inside of their own. More specifically, Rennie is a host who houses two demons inside of her own body. Her demons have the attributes of light and darkness."

"So there are different kinds of double demons?" Kuwabara asked, somewhat starry-eyed.

"Yes, my mother was one, and my friend Blaze is the host of fire and lightning demons…" Rennie spoke quietly.

"You've mentioned that name before. Who's this Blaze guy?" Yusuke tilted his head to the side.

The brunette's eyes dulled for a split second. "He was my childhood friend. He was taken away when we were young by the group Radinane is a part of." She clenched her fists. "When I was fourteen, I started searching for leads to track Blaze down. Koenma helped me…"

"But… you never found him?" Kurama asked in a gentle tone. He felt that the topic of "Blaze" was a sensitive one for the young heroine.

She shook her head. "At sixteen… I took a break from tracking him. Radinane sort of… got in the way to say the least." Rennie paused, perhaps a few seconds too long for the boys stared at her confusedly.

"Yes, well, that is a story for another day," Koenma stated, eyeing the girl and her expression. He knew what she was feeling in that instance because he had been there. He was the only one, other than the sick man who caused it, who knew what true pain looked like on her face. "I have arranged for the five of you to stay with Genkai, so you all may rest and recover. Not only that, but I am sure Makai will be abuzz with the events you each were a part of. It would be of no surprise to me if the owners of The Severed Head were searching for you. For the time being, you will have to lay low until Spirit World can smooth the ruffled feathers."

The toddler prince clasped his hands together and set his chin on top of them, looking each of them in the eye in turn. "Of course you will find some of your things, such as clothes and whatnot and the girls there as well. I don't want any threats being made toward their lives."

He snapped his fingers and a blue portal swirled in the wall on the left hand side of his office. "Botan, you may go with them. I suppose you deserve a break after these past few very busy days," he finished, smiling. She beamed at him, thanking him a thousand times before jumping through the vortex. His number one team followed suit one by one until all that was left was Rennie.

"Rennie… Do try to enjoy yourself, all right?" He was now in his teenage form, gently clasping her shoulders with his hands. "You can relax. You are in good company."

"I know." She smiled, tilting her head forward slightly.

"Get to know them," he said, a little assertiveness present in his tone. Koenma knew how she was. If he didn't press her into doing something, she'd hole herself up in her room until news on Blaze reached her waiting ears. That was the bit of her lighter demon side her human self retained; shyness. She was fine in front of new people so long as she was around someone she knew or if there was fighting going on. He rolled his eyes every time he thought of how long it took him to coax her into talking to Botan. "I don't want you hiding yourself away the entire time they're around. Got it?"

She sighed and nodded. How he knew her so well.

Patting her shoulders, he pushed her towards the portal. "Now get going. No doubt the girls are already greeting everyone." She glanced between the portal and him.

"Koenma…"

He waved his hand nonchalantly as he reclaimed his seat. "Yes, I know. If I find anything on Blaze, you'll be the first to know."

Rennie grinned and moved towards the blue vortex. The minute she stepped through, Koenma's parting words filled her ears.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>Koenma's transportation device landed her at the base of Master Genkai's temple steps. She'd walked up these steps before, and she didn't mind the distance to the top. It would give her time to reign in her thoughts. For the most part she couldn't decide if she was more giddy or more nervous. These were the <em>Spirit Detectives<em>, the guys she'd only ever dreamed of meeting. She was only a few feet away from her role models.

"What do I say?" she muttered, taking the first few concrete steps with ease. "Koenma wants me to socialize, so I can't let him down." She ran over the many different scenarios of how she would speak to them for the first time, without the prince of Rekai helping her that is, in her head. The first imagination consisted of her being too overly peppy, acting like a cheerleader and waving a banner around with the words "So nice to meet you, I love you all!" stitched on it. She face palmed and sighed. "I might as well just walk up to them and tell them I'm a creeper if I'm thinking of that."

Her next imagination featured her acting all cool and mysterious, dressed in a black leather trench coat and carrying a wooden sword with the wind blowing cherry blossom petals wildly around her. Rennie groaned and shook her head. "There's no need for that! Seriously… I need to stop staying up late and watching anime."

A soft prickling at the back of her mind caused her to cease all thoughts. She wasn't in the least bit surprised by the feeling. If anything, she had grown accustomed to it, expected it really. There was always time to listen to the other two souls sharing her body.

'_Just be yourself.'_

"Be myself, huh?" Rennie clenched her fists in a new determination and found herself at the top of the stairs. "All right. I can do that," she said, spotting the boys standing in the courtyard with Genkai and the girls.

Botan was the first to spot her and proceeded to drag the brunette over to the waiting group. "Finally! We were wondering if maybe you wandered off somewhere!" the ferry girl chirped. "You already know Genkai and Yukina, of course."

Said two gave their own versions of smiles to the double demon. Rennie returned it, more than happily while Botan continued her introductions. "I don't believe you've met the other ladies behind Team Urameshi." She gestured toward two girls with long hair. One was much taller than the other with blonde-brown hair and was smoking a cigarette. She wore baggy beige pants and a white shirt, it was similar to Kurama's outfit. She pulled the cancer stick from her lips. "How's it goin'. I'm Shizuru Kuwabara, this oaf's older sister." Shizuru casually pointed her thumb toward Kuwabara.

"Aww, sis, what's that supposed to mean?!" said "oaf" shrieked. His sibling shook her head with a smirk and looked Rennie in the eyes. "See what I mean?"

"Hey!"

The shorter, brunette of the two young women shook her head with a smile. Her outfit was that of a simple red blouse and some blue jeans. She stood close to Yusuke in a casual, yet intimate way. She offered a hand to Rennie who grabbed it firmly; they shook. "My name is Keiko Yukimura. It's very nice to meet you. Oh, and thank you for saving my idiot of a boyfriend." Keiko pointed to Yusuke. He merely shrugged. Rennie nodded and mustered up her courage. She couldn't help but be afraid that her voice would come out as nothing but a squeak.

"Nice to meet you both… I'm Rennie… Rennie Raindraver." She let out the shaky breath she'd been holding and looked at the four boys, her new teammates. "I look forward to working with you. It is my hope that we all get along well."

Kurama smiled a charming smile to ease the girl's nerves. He could sense the anxiety rolling off of her. "It's lovely to have you here with us."

"Agreed, now where's the grub? I'm starving!" Yusuke exclaimed, patting his stomach.

Keiko smacked the back of his head. "Yusuke!"

"What! The hell'd I do!"

She glared. "You're being rude!"

Yukina smiled. "Dinner will be ready shortly, we should all go inside before it gets too terribly dark and cold."

"I second that!" Kuwabara agreed with hearts in his eyes.

Genkai was the first by the sliding doors leading into her temple. "C'mon, ya bunch of dimwits," she said, a corner of her mouth twitching into a grin.

As Rennie watched them all shuffle through the entrance, she felt a wave of happiness overtake her entire being. She wasn't going to be… alone anymore. Future missions would be conquered with other beings. Things would be gone through _together_.

"Rennie!"

"Coming!"

* * *

><p>Dinner was a raucous event, something Rennie was most certainly not used to. Everyone sat around the table together, something else she wasn't used to. For the past year, for her, dinner had been spent sitting around a fire, alone. She was lucky to have her two demons to keep her company, but she had missed real social contact. Instead of eating, she chose to observe what everyone else was doing and only picked at her food. Yusuke and Kuwabara shoveled food into their mouths, making loud grunting noises in the process. Keiko held herself back from scolding the two of them, and Genkai sat at the head of the table, eyes closed and smiling. Kurama's expression was one of amusement, while Hiei's was one of disgust. Shizuru just shook her head as Yukina and Botan smiled at each other and the rest of the occupants of the dinner table.<p>

The double demon blinked slowly, taking everything in. It was all so strange, sitting amongst so many people. It was especially strange sitting with a group of people who so naturally fit together, whereas they had never known of her existence until that day. She glanced to her left at Botan and then to her right at Hiei. The seating arrangement had landed her betwixt the ferry girl and the fire demon. She was honestly quite surprised to see him eating with the group. Koenma and Botan were always telling stories of their experiences with the "anti-social hothead" as they called him. However, a quick whisper from her blue haired friend explaining that Kurama convinced him to join dinner had her nodding with understanding.

She also knew how influential Kurama could be, it seemed he was the only one Hiei would genuinely listen to. They were… best friends. At least she had deduced they had that sort of relationship. 'What if I'm wrong? What if they have… _that_ sort of relationship?' she thought, and her face flared to life, red as flame.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Hiei giving her a look. She wasn't sure if it was a weirded out look or an annoyed look… She decided to go with both.

The look intensified.

Yep. Both.

The sound of glass suddenly clanging broke the miniscule amount of eye contact. Rennie looked across the table and found Yusuke tapping his fork against his cup. He cleared his throat and stood up from his chair. "I normally don't do this sappy stuff, but I figure somebody has got to. It has been a while since all of us were together like this… So, I wanted to make a toast, to us being together again." He lifted his glass.

"And to Rennie! For saving our butts!" Kuwabara announced, raising his own glass.

"Yes, to Rennie." Kurama complied, smiling towards said girl.

"To Rennie," everyone else followed.

She was overwhelmed. She didn't know which emotion took hold of her more as she robotically lifted up and then drank from her glass. There were so many feelings radiating from her body; happiness, admiration, excitement… She felt as if she would explode with feelings.

After everyone had taken a sip from their individual cups, they all began to slow down with their eating. This allowed for the casual conversation to begin. "So, Rennie, what kind of demon are you?" Keiko asked.

"Huh?" Rennie looked up with wide eyes, caught off guard.

"Well, being a friend of Yusuke's, you must be some kind of demon or have some kind of ability."

"Rennie's a double demon," Kuwabara managed to get out through a mouth full of food.

"That's a new one." Shizuru's voice was mumbled because of the freshly lit cigarette dangling from her lips. Her plate was empty, so it was now time to relax with a smoke.

"That's what I said," Yusuke agreed, patting his belly. "Not in those exact words, but close enough. Koenma hardly told us a thing about it, so we're all sort've in the dark. All he said was that Rennie has two demon souls inside of her own soul, or something like that." He paused to belch, to which Keiko popped him over the head. Yusuke glared and said an 'excuse me' to keep her from hitting him again. "So, Ren," he continued, still glaring half-heartedly at his girlfriend, "you gonna give us the full explanation or do I need to force it outta Binky Breath?"

The newest addition to Team Urameshi froze. All eyes were on her for the umpteenth time that day, and what was it Yusuke had called her? Ren? 'He called me… Ren. He gave me a nickname… I…' She noticed them all staring at her expectantly and realized she'd been silent far too long, once again. 'Oh! No, no! What was the question?'

'_They were asking you to explain what you are.'_

Ren nodded fiercely, surely a strange sight for her companions, and blurted out, "Light and Shadow!"

"Light?" Yusuke looked confused.

"And shadow?" Kuwabara finished.

Rennie felt her face turn red hot, all the way to the roots of her hair.

_**'That... was**_** embarrassing.'**_**  
><strong>_

"I… My abilities…" Her throat constricted and she felt self-conscious. Botan patted her hand under the table to encourage her to keep going. With the deity by her side, she felt a new sense of comfort and the courage to do anything. "The two demons sharing my soul, sharing my body, are the basis of light and darkness. They are the origin of it, the elements…" She smiled fondly.

"The origin of light and darkness? That's quite a long time I'm sure," Kurama said, seemingly fascinated. "Do you know how long they have existed?"

Her smile slowly faded. "Unfortunately, no… They have no recollection of how old they truly are, nor do they remember how many hosts they've cycled through. I only know for sure that my mother was their previous soul-sharer." The fond smile she once held turned sarcastic, a slight tug at the corner of her mouth. "They don't even remember their true names."

"That's terrible," Yukina's soft voice filtered through the room. The ice maiden had never had the opportunity to talk with Rennie. Their conversations only ever consisted of a hello and goodbye because the brunette usually only stopped by long enough to drop something off for Genkai from Koenma. "What do you call them?"

"Well, because I was so young when I came into possession of them, I gave them rather simple names after they informed me of their memory loss. The form I was in when I came to get you was that of my Halo Trigger. She is Halo, the essence of good, light, and kindness. The other, my Devil Trigger, I call Devil. She's the essence of darkness, mischievousness, and power. The three of us make up… well, me." She sucked in air deeply through her nose as she finished. It was a lot to say and even more to take in. Assessing their reactions as she looked around the dinner table, she waited for someone to speak.

Yusuke was the first. "So, it's kinda like a split personality disorder except you're in control of yourself 24/7."

"I guess you could say that." Rennie nodded, taking his words into consideration. "I do talk to them in my head. Hal would like to say hello and Dev…" She trailed off and her face scrunched up after a moment. "Dev would like to say some things I refuse to repeat."

"They sound very charming." Kurama smirked and his eyes glinted. "Now, I have a question I would like to ask, and I hope it will not dredge up any unwanted feelings."

"Shoot."

"This… Radinane fellow, can you tell us anymore about him or his organization?"

Her eyes turned downcast and she frowned. Botan gave her hand a reassuring squeeze this time. "Radinane is only one member of a group that keeps coming back to haunt me. As far as I know, there are twelve of them. Like I said earlier, they kidnapped my childhood friend. For what reason? I do not know. Neither do I know if their organization has a name or not. They just… appeared one day in our village and destroyed everything. I've only ever seen two of the member's faces; Radinane and another called Cerberus. When they took Blaze, I was ten, and I vowed that I would find him." She paused a split second in order to lean back in her seat and cross her arms.

"I wandered around on my own for several days, searching for help of any sort… That's when Koenma found me. He told me he'd help me find Blaze because he believed I'd be an 'asset to future happenings'. For the next three years, Koenma had me trained so I would be in better control of my demons. It then took another year before he found any information related to Blaze. He'd found a member of their organization-Radinane-torturing some humans in Ningenkai. I was fourteen then, and I spent the next two years chasing after a group who are insanely talented at hiding their tracks." A sigh slipped past her lips.

"I don't know if I'll ever find him… But I can't stop looking… Because not only has this adventure taken me on a search for him, but it's also a way for me to help Halo and Devil unlock their lost memories."

When she finished her explanation, the room was suddenly silent. They'd all been listening so closely to her tale that they had become used to her voice filling the space around them. Due to their lengthy silence, she began to shift uncomfortably in her seat. "So… Um… Did that answer your question, Kurama? I'm sorry it isn't much…"

"No, no, your input was very helpful. You did not have to go into so much detail, but we are all grateful to you for doing so." He smiled. "I hope we can assist you in your search for Blaze and for Halo and Devil's missing memories."

Her shoulders lost their tension and she released a quiet sigh of relief. She was glad to have told them something about herself to better relate with them. She no longer felt as much of a stranger as before. Beside her, Botan started collecting dishes and stood with them in her arms. "Well, that was a lovely talk. Yukina, I will help you wash the dishes."

"Oh, me too!" Kuwabara exclaimed, standing up so fast his chair fell behind him. He scooped up as many dishes, cups, and silverware as his big arms and hands could handle and practically skipped after a giggling Yukina into the kitchen.

"Should I help?" Rennie asked, glancing around the table at the remaining occupants.

"Nah, Kuwabara'll use his great 'man power of love' to get everything done in only a few minutes." Yusuke sniggered making air quotes. "While they do that, we should all probably unpack whatever Koenma had packed for us."

"Good idea, Yusuke."

They each stood from the table. Our young heroine followed suit, stopping to politely push her chair in. Kurama inclined his head in her direction. "Come, Rennie, I will show you to the room you will be staying in." He started down the connecting hallway and she stepped lightly after. They walked a good ways down the hall, turning a corner or two until he stopped at a door seated in between two others. "We all used to stay here so often, we know where our rooms are. This was the one normally used by Koenma whenever he rarely and randomly decided to stay with us." The red-haired kitsune opened the door and gestured for her to step inside. "I hope you don't mind using this one. You're in the middle of Botan and Keiko, so if you need something, do not hesitate to ask." With a nod and a 'thank you' from her, he turned and continued on down the hallway, presumably to his own room.

Rennie studied the room that was now hers. There was a small closet to one side and a dresser set against white walls. A decent sized bed took up the other side, and there was a bedside table with a lamp on it. The sheets, pillows, and comforter on the bed were plain white which she didn't mind. Because the bed looked so comfortable, she could care less about how void of color the bedroom was. The only thing remotely colorful was that of her suitcase which was lying at the foot of her temporary bed. It was purple with little stickers of angel wings and devil horns adorning it. She'd had a bit of a sticker craze when she was younger. Botan had brought her a sticker book one afternoon after training. Her childish self had fallen in love with the item and became addicted to decorating anything and everything with them. Of course she couldn't bring herself to throw the suitcase away, so she kept it for the sentimental reasons.

Her fingers flipped the familiar metal locks up and she pulled several outfits, bathroom items, and a set of her favorite pajamas forth. Koenma really _did_ know her all too well. She laughed aloud to herself before carrying the clothing to the dresser and fitting them neatly inside. Her bathroom essentials were placed in the bottom drawer of the wooden piece of furniture. Last but not least, she laid out her pajamas on the bed so they would be waiting for her when she was ready for sleep.

"Getting all settled in?"

The double demon whirled, startled, toward the door. It was Keiko, leaning against the doorframe. "Oh, you scared me…" Rennie placed a hand over her quickly beating heart.

Keiko smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I just figured I'd see how you were doing since we're going to be neighbors and all." She winked. "So how are you holding up?"

"I'm all right. It's strange… being here with everyone, but I'm happy to be a part of the company."

"I understand. It may seem weird at first, but you'll be used to all of us in no time. Well, shall we head out to the living room and check in with everyone else?" Both girls walked at a casual pace to the living area and found everyone already there. Yusuke and Kuwabara were shoving each other playfully while playing some sort of fighting video game. Yukina, Shizuru, and Botan took up the love seat, talking amongst one another. Genkai and Kurama were sitting at the small living room table drinking tea. Hiei was in the window seat, staring outside into the night. Keiko headed over to sit on the side of the couch closest to the love seat so she could join the other girls' conversation.

"Hey, Ren! Ya wanna play? We got an extra controller!" Yusuke offered, holding up said extra controller. The two boys had paused their match and were both looking back at her.

She shook her head. "No, thank you though."

"Suit yourself." Game commence. She smiled and chose to sit next to Keiko on the couch.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Kurama shifted his emerald eyes in her direction.

Once again, she shook her head. "No, thank you." All of this kindness was beginning to make her want to just melt. She felt privileged, yet terrible at the same time because they were all being so nice. At that moment, she happened to look up toward the girls occupying the love seat and notice the window seat oddly empty. She knew from the stories that he was quick, but she didn't think he was _that_ quick. 'Hm. I wonder where he has gone. He sat through dinner with all of us. This is the first time he has left everyone's side all night…' Her thoughts ended up discontinued due to the yawn her body decided to produce. "Well, I think I'm going to hit the hay, everyone." She got up, stretching along the way.

"Aw, really? You can't stay up any longer?" Botan asked with a bit of a pout.

"No, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm starting to feel the effects of such a busy day."

"Well, we will see you in the morning." Yukina smiled brightly.

"Yes, well goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight!" most of them called as she turned the corner into the hallway. She was close to turning the last corner before her new room when Hiei came around it. Her movement ceased and she waited there, attempting to look anywhere but his crimson eyes. She continued to wait, thinking he would just go around her, but he didn't. 'He has such pretty eyes.' The thoughts tossed themselves throughout her mind before she could reign them back in. 'No! I shouldn't be thinking that sort of stuff. We're teammates and he might have _that_ sort of relationship with Kurama.' She chanced a look and found his eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Project your thoughts any louder and I will be subjected to unfortunate stupidity like the oaf."

"My thoughts? You're reading my thoughts?" There goes her privacy and any respect she had earned from the fire demon.

"Hn. Not on purpose, baka onna. With the way you were practically screaming them, I could not help but hear."

"You… Then that means you heard… You heard what I thought of you and Kurama…" she squeaked out.

"Never think such trash again unless you want an early death wish," he hissed. Then he walked briskly around her, and she followed him with her eyes.

"Well, ah, okay, I'm gonna go to bed, so, goodnight, Hiei," Rennie called, sure he wouldn't respond. He didn't and she sighed. When she got to her door, she opened it and walked inside. After she shut it behind her, she pressed her back against it and slid downward.

* * *

><p>An hour passed rather quickly in Genkai's temple. The elderly master of Yusuke Urameshi and the four other female guests retired to their rooms for the night, leaving the detective and his old team sitting in the living room. All was silent. Kuwabara and Yusuke had grown bored of their game and moved from the wooden floor to the couch. Hiei still sat in his favorite spot, and Kurama was curled up on the love seat with a book he had read more than twice. The wielder of the Spirit Gun happened to be enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Sitting with his best friends, just being with them filled him with a content and comfortable joy. Still, he had to wonder how things were going to change with Rennie being added to their little family.<p>

"Somethin' on your mind, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked, curious as to why his best friend had such a look of concentration on his face.

"I was just wondering what you all thought of Rennie… I mean, she seems like a good kid and all, but do we know if we can definitely trust her and actually get along?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "I ain't got a problem with her. She seems pretty great to me. Heheh!" He grinned widely.

Yusuke smirked. "You're just saying that 'cause she save your butt earlier. What about you, Kurama?"

Kurama shut his book. "I have no suspicion toward her. The only thing I can say I noticed is that she's a bit too nervous when with us." He chuckled a little. "That is nothing unbecoming of course. It will take time for her to become used to being around everyone. Hiei, did you happen to notice anything strange?"

The fire youkai looked away from the window. "Hn. Nothing in her mind, other than sheer senseless thoughts of trash." His eyes narrowed in disgust.

"I won't ask…" Kurama sighed. "Hiei, do try to be a bit more courteous, will you?" He grunted a 'hn' and turned away to watch the outside world. The kitsune shook his head.

"Well then, I guess we're all on the same page." The detective grinned his signature grin. "Starting tomorrow begins our new adventure with Ren."

* * *

><p>Rennie couldn't sleep. She'd been laying in bed for an hour and a half staring up at the white ceiling. Trying to close her eyes and keep them closed proved futile. She'd ended up tossing and turning for a good five minutes before she figured out that it just wasn't going to happen. Squeezing her pillow in her arms, the events of that day ran through her head. She had been accepted by a group of people she had only ever dreamed of meeting. When she had first started working with Koenma, she often heard of the Rekai Tantei's deeds. Now, here she was… under the same roof. The realization that she would be working with the boys finally hit her, crashing into her like a tidal wave. She flipped over and screamed into the pillow in happiness.<p>

'_**Ne, if you keep screaming like that, your head will explode…'**_

'_Devil!'_

'_**It's the truth.'**_

'I've never heard of someone's head exploding because they screamed with joy.'

'_**Ahn, I've seen it.'**_

Rennie heard an inner sigh come from Halo. _'You're such a liar, Dev.'_

'_**Well, I am supposed to be the more evil one out of the two of us.' **_Devil flashed her fangs and started laughing maniacally causing Rennie to chuckle.

'_Mm. How could I forget… Ah, Rennie, how do you like the detectives?' _

Rennie smiled and spoke aloud, "They're all so wonderful. Each of them are exactly the way Koenma's stories described them. Yusuke's a fearless leader and protects anyone he cherishes. Kuwabara is so very loyal and although I know he's sometimes brash, he's a tough guy who fights with his heart. Kurama is kind, but I know he can be fierce, especially when it comes down to his mother's safety. And Hiei… Hiei is quiet and mostly keeps to himself… His only words to me all day were threats… Not exactly my idea of the best first impression ever, but I'm sure he'll come to like me… I hope."

'_**He's a hot little fire demon.' **_

Rennie shot up from her bed, blushing furiously. 'Devil!' both she and Halo yelled simultaneously.

'_**What. I'm simply stating the obvious. Man, Rennie, you should've seen the way Hal's eyes bugged out of her head when she saw him.' **_Devil snickered, slinging an arm around the other demon.

Halo massaged her temples with her thumb and index finger. _'Dev, you drive me crazy.' _

'_**Heh! But you love me!'**_

'_Sometimes I wonder.'_

"Dev, those thoughts aren't so great to think, considering he can read my mind and all. We're gonna be teammates, there's no time for any… mushy stuff, I suppose you could say." The brunette settled back into the mattress, furrowing her brow.

'_**Fine. I'm just having a little fun.' **_

'_Enough fun for today. Rennie, you should get some sleep, you've got a long day ahead of you.'_

"All right, goodnight you two."

They wished her goodnight and retreated to the soul room. Rennie made herself as comfortable as possible and closed her eyes, ready for the new day that was sure to be a good one.

* * *

><p>AN: All right, guys, there you go. Chapter four is finally done! I'm so happy! I've been working my butt off to finishing this. College really helped to get my gears turning. I will be kicking my butt into high gear to work on chapter five most likely on Monday. I hope to have it done rather quickly. I finished typing this at 5:00 A.M. so please excuse any mistakes. By the way, I wanted to put this in the beginning, but I didn't wanna ruin it. Haha.

In case someone didn't pick up on it:

'Rennie.'

'_**Devil.'**_

'_Halo.'_

I hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time! :D


	5. One of the Boys

A/N: Hey guys! I know, I know. It has been far too long. I've had a lot going on. Originally I had almost half of this typed out almost a year ago, but then my computer suddenly stopped working and I couldn't get to what I already had typed. Turns out my cat had chewed up the power cord to my laptop -_- So I was going to just type it all over again, but then managed to finally get a new power cord and get what I had written already transferred to a better laptop. I had a lot going on with college and my personal life as well so it took me a lot longer than I wanted it to in order to get this finished. I hope you guys enjoy! I think this is my longest chapter yet!

In case someone needs it:

'Rennie.'

'**Devil.**'

'_Halo._'

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Rennie Raindraver is my very own.

* * *

><p>Darkness. Never ending darkness spread out beyond sight. That was all Rennie could see. She was slowly floating in a downward direction. Or was it upward? Her eyes blinked slowly as she registered what was happening. She looked down and found more abyss. "Where am I?" she asked, and listened as it echoed out away from her for a ways until the blackness appeared to swallow it up. "Why's it so dark?" She noticed she was now more or less free-falling rather than floating. Her hair and clothes lifted a bit, trying to hold onto the wind. Eyes glancing around for anything to hold onto found absolutely nothing.<p>

"Hal! Dev!" she called. No reply.

"Halo! Devil!" her voice was a bit more anxious this time. Her heart started to pound in sudden fear. "Where are you…? You never fail to answer me…" She gasped when her feet met solid ground. Her right converse-clad foot slid a timid step forward, finding more solid surface. Relieved, she sighed. "If Hal and Dev aren't here… then what's going on?"

A small, golden light erupted beside her. She could hear the sound of children's laughter resonating from it. She reached out to touch it with her hand, it flashed and enveloped her. The brightness had her covering her eyes with her hands. When it subsided, she unshielded her face and could see she was floating in a clear blue sky. Her body was somewhat transparent, and she briefly wondered if she was a ghost. Those thoughts were interrupted when she looked below and saw a young version of herself surrounded by other kids. They were laughing while the child merely stood there.

"I remember this," she murmured. She flew down along the clouds, running her hands through the white vapor. Rennie's feet touched the grass and she stepped through the group of laughing and pointing kids to her younger form.

The young Rennie Raindraver stood there, in the midst of all the others. She stared them all down, her chin turned up in defiance. A blue skinned demon child who had pointy ears stood at the back of the group of children. His arms were crossed and a smug smirk tugged at his blue lips. Rennie knew he was the leader.

"So, how's our little orphan today?" he asked, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Why don't you have a mommy or a daddy? Maybe they didn't love you…" said a water demon with turquoise scales and webbed hands and feet. With her words, all the others began their giggling again. The blue demon waved his hand and he and his followers started retreating away back towards their homes.

"I have a dad! And I have a mom!" Rennie called after them. Then she sighed, dropped to the ground in an indian style position, and set her chin in her hand. "I had a mom…" She began picking absently at the grass. "I'm not an orphan…"

'**Then why don't you say something?**'

'_You know they wouldn't listen, Dev…_'

'**It's not about them listening. It's about Rennie standing up for herself.**'

"It wouldn't matter," she mumbled. "They're kids… I'm a kid. Kids don't listen to kids they single out as different." She thought of her mother in that instant and wondered what she would do. Tears pricked at her eyes. She hastily tried to rub them away. 'No, no. I told myself I wouldn't do this. It's all right, I'm all right.' But no matter how hard she rubbed at her eyes, she knew everything wasn't all right, she wasn't okay.

It had been at least four years since Raylen Raindraver had passed away. Rennie had only been four when it happened, and she hadn't known her mother well enough to grieve. She told herself she would express no sorrow. 'But… it's because I never grieved that I am this way now.' Burrowing her face into her knees seemed to trigger more tears. 'I hate it.'

The thud of footsteps sounded in her ears. Rennie looked up, expecting to see the group of kids from before. Instead, standing before her was a boy she'd never met before. He had spiky black hair with red colored tipped bangs that fell into his eyes. He didn't look much older than her, but she could tell he was definitely taller than most of the other boys in the village. He was dressed in rather torn black shorts and a red tank top. He had the brightest ruby red eyes Rennie had ever seen on anyone, and they were looking right at her.

"I don't normally associate myself with the people of this place," he spoke, expressionless, "but I guess today I felt like being nice." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out toward the forest surrounding the many homes. "Weak people are boring."

Her eyes widened. 'He's calling me… weak?'

"They have no right to exist if all they're going to do is drag others down with them. Do you understand?" His eyes met hers again. "You're weak. If you let them continue bullying you, your weakness will be your downfall."

His words were cruel and they sent a tremor through her body. He seemed like he was waiting for something, but when she failed to respond and only stared, he shook his head, turned, and proceeded to walk away.

"I'm not…" her voice came out quiet and raspy. "I'm not weak… I'm just…" She forced it to be louder. "I'm not weak! I'm just…" He stopped and turned to face her. "It's just so lonely." Her vision blurred with more tears, but she could make out the fuzzy red and black form of the boy. She felt a pressure on top of her head and then the feeling of her hair being ruffled.

"The first step to becoming stronger is admitting your own feelings and weaknesses." He lifted her up off the ground and held her mid-air for a moment. "If your weakness is loneliness, then I will remove that factor from your life. You're the same as me, a double demon. I'm going to train you." Rennie's feet found the ground and she stared at him with no longer teary eyes. Once again, he turned from her in order to walk away.

"H-hey, wait!" She went to chase after him. "Who are you? I'm Rennie! You could at least tell me who you are!"

"Blaze."

The older Rennie watched the two of them disappear into the trees. She was tempted to follow after in order to see more of Blaze. However, the sudden shadows of a dancing flame had her frozen. Screams and smoke rose to meet each other in the afternoon glow of the sun. Rennie could only relive it all and watch as people were slaughtered. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and covered her ears. "Please, please let it end. Please end, please end, please end!"

The last word was a shout. Any bits of sound coming through her hands stopped altogether. She chanced a look and found that she was back in the dark abyss from before. Though now she was no longer alone; her younger self sat a little ways ahead of her. Only this time, she was bruised and bloody with flame scorched hair and skin. In her lap lay a pale-looking Blaze, his eyes closed and his chest still.

"Blaze…" She reached to touch him, but stopped when the other Rennie glared up at her with hollow, black eyes.

"Where were you? Because you weren't there, now he's cold, now he's gone."

"No, it's not my fault. I was there! I was!"

"No you weren't! You failed!"

The hollowed blackness of the eyes glowed red-orange, like hot coals. From all around Rennie, glowing, coal-like eyes were appearing, covering the dark void. Her child self stood and was speaking the same phrase over and over in a chilling demonic voice. "You weren't there. You weren't there. You weren't there."

Rennie tried to back away from the advancing army of terrifying eyes. Her heel knocked into something invisible, and she fell backwards. A scream ripped its way from her mouth as she fell down, down, down, down…

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><p>She was startled awake, sweating profusely, clenching her teeth and the white bed sheets. Her heart was pumping a mile a minute, breath coming in quick succession.<p>

'_Rennie?_' Hal.

'**You all right?**' Dev.

'I'm all right. I'm… okay. Just… just give me a minute.' She sat up slowly, attempting to calm her breathing and her heart.

'_Was it that nightmare again? That's the fourth time this week. I thought you'd stopped having those. Rennie… Maybe you should tell Koenma…_' Halo's tone turned into one filled with worry.

'I'm fine. Really. Koenma doesn't need to know anything of it.'

'**Yeah, quit your yapping and frettin', Hal, Ren'll be fine.**'

Rennie noticed Devil use the nickname Yusuke had given her and remembered her current place of temporary residence. 'Oh! The boys!'

'**That's right, kiddo! You're not out in the wild anymore!**' Devil's image flashed a toothy grin.

'_I believe everyone is already up and starting their day._'

'Really?' The double demon glanced at the small clock sitting on the bedside table. Twelve in the afternoon flashed in red across the surface. "What! No way!" She tossed the comforter and sheets off and rocketed out of bed. Running over to the dresser, she ripped the drawers open and pulled out a random shirt and jeans. "I can't believe I slept so late!" she wailed, shimmying the jeans up and over her hips. To be perfectly honest, this was the latest she had slept in months. Usually she was up by about eight. Then again, last night was the first night sleeping in an actual bed in a long while. The shirt she pulled on over her head was half black, half white. On the back, there was a feathery angel wing on the black half and a devilish black, leathery wing on the white.

'**You know, I never noticed it before, but all your clothes seem to have the same theme.**' Dev's voice was thoughtful.

"What's that?" Rennie breathed aloud, throwing open the bedroom door and practically diving across the hall into the open bathroom.

'**Us.**'

Ren checked her appearance in the mirror, making sure she looked presentable. "Huh. I guess I never thought about it before. I just picked them out because they felt comfortable." She walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway. Looking in on the bedrooms of Keiko and Botan, she found no one. She made her way toward the living room and then the kitchen. Everywhere, so far, was empty. The only place left was the outside. She found the sliding screen set of doors that led to the backyard and stepped through them.

"Well, good morning! Or rather good afternoon I should say!" came a bubbly voice she would've known anywhere.

"Good afternoon." She turned to face Botan. The blue-haired deity was smiling in her direction, hands on her hips.

"I was just about to come wake you up, sleepy head! I've been with the other girls, helping Yukina hang up clothes to dry. She went ahead and washed your clothes from yesterday. I hope you don't mind."

"Uh-huh, no I don't mind at all. Where are the boys?" Rennie asked eagerly.

"The boys… I believe they're sparring over in the training area." She pointed to the nearby forest. "There's a path leading to it over there."

"Thanks, Botan!" Rennie called behind her as she bounded down the steps and off to the trees.

"Hey, wait! You didn't tell me any stories from your journey!" Botan complained.

"Later, I promise!"

The ferry girl shook her head, but she smiled. "That girl," she mumbled, watching her best friend disappear into the woods.

* * *

><p>Rennie emerged on the other side not too long after starting the trail. She had run the entire length of it. A decent sized training arena was lain out in a bare portion of field. Kuwabara sat on a bench made of stone nearby. Rennie walked to him, taking note of the fact that Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei were in the ring together, staring each other down.<p>

"Hey, Ren," Kuwabara greeted, patting the spot on the bench beside him. "Have a seat. Urameshi, Kurama, and the shrimp are about to have a little showdown."

"You're not going to join in?" she questioned, sitting down with him.

"Nah, I already got my fill of fighting for the day." He gestured to several bruises and scrapes on his arms and face. "Plus, this is kind of a battle to show off demonic power. Being human and all, it wouldn't do any good for me to be in there."

The brunette reached out for his cheek where a nasty bruise was already turning a deep purple and black. Her hand glowed silver and then the mark was gone. "Even for being a human, you have your own talents you contribute to the group."

He reached up, blinking, and felt his cheek. The pain was gone. "Heh, I guess. I mean, we've had our adventures where my Spirit Sword has come in handy. But right now, they're in the spotlight. Anyway, that's a neat ability ya got yourself there," he complimented as she healed his arms. "Now Botan and my sweet Yukina won't be alone in healing us."

"You really love Yukina, don't you?"

Kuwabara smiled and it reached his eyes. "I do. I'd do anything and everything for her. But I don't think she understands my feelings. With the way she grew up, I doubt she knows what my kind of love means. Knowing that, I still won't give up. I may not be able to replace her brother, but I do wanna be an important man in her life."

Rennie paused in her ministrations and looked up at the orange-haired boy. "She has a brother?"

He nodded, rubbing the back of his head with one freshly healed hand. "Yeah. She has been lookin' for him for a long time. I've been trying to help her, but I feel helpless. I can't really just up and leave for Makai or Rekai to look for him."

Ren tilted her head to the side, releasing his other arm. "Maybe we'll find him while looking for Blaze."

"Ya think so?"

She smiled and noticed Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei were finally about to begin. The kitsune and fire youkai had drawn their weapons of choice, and the Spirit Detective was emanating a mix of blue and red energy. "It looks like things are starting." She and Kuwabara watched the three figures for a moment. Suddenly the arena lit up with a flurry of colors and quick flashes.

"Jeez, they only seem to get faster each time," Kuwabara muttered, a little disappointed. "I'm surprised I can even keep up."

Rennie giggled a bit. "Don't be disappointed. The fact that you can keep up means your skills are still up to par."

"Yeah, Kurama said something like that to me a few years back."

They lapsed into a silence. It wasn't a weird silence but rather it felt natural. The only sound that could be heard was that of the three sparring. Rennie felt comfortable sitting there with the Spirit Sword wielder. She assumed it must have been because he was the first of the boys she'd really met. Even though it stemmed from frightening circumstances, she felt like a bond had formed between them.

"Hey, Ren, about yesterday… You know, when you showed up and saved me from that dragon? I just wanted to say thanks… For saving my butt and all." He was rubbing the back of his head again.

She shook her head and looked down at the grass beneath her feet. "You don't have to thank me. I did what anyone would have. Besides, if anyone saved someone's life, it was the four of you who saved mine."

His expression turned to one of confusion. "We saved you? But we never met you before yesterday…"

The wind picked up, rustling the trees. Rennie's brown hair was sent whipping about her face. She tucked the strands behind her ears as best she could. "It's true we'd never met, but Koenma would tell me of your missions. The two years I spent on my own were hard, to say the least. I always looked forward to the end of the day when Botan or Koenma would call me on the communicator. They would say, 'You'll never believe what Yusuke did today!' or 'Kuwabara gave us all quite a scare at the Dark Tournament!' Things like those…" She went quiet and Kuwabara regarded her with wide eyes.

"When Koenma told me the group had been disbanded and you were going your separate ways… I was crushed. You all were my role models. Without your accomplishments in my life, I felt weaker… Like I'd lost some really great friends…" She blushed when she realized her admittance. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see Kuwabara smiling. He looked over to his fellow teammates, who were all standing still and breathing heavily with smirks on their faces.

"You must've really wanted to meet us, huh?"

"I hoped I would. The days I would come back to Koenma's office, I would wish for you all to be there. You'd never guess just how disappointed I was when you weren't." She chuckled and another moment of peace fell between them. Her eyes wandered over to the arena. The three demons had discontinued their little spar. Yusuke was sitting on the ground, his head thrown back with a laugh to something Kurama had said. Then her gaze was on Hiei. She wondered if he was angry with her for the night before and resolved to confront him sometime during the day.

'**Look at those muscles… I'd like to…**'

'_Dev!_'

Rennie groaned, shaking her head.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Just something Devil said."

Kuwabara furrowed his brow. "It must've been somethin' bad then."

"More embarrassing than bad."

"There's something I'm sorta curious about, so can I ask you a question?" She didn't answer and he took it as a silence of approval. "Were you always aware of your demons?"

She thought for a moment, sorting through the memories from her childhood she could remember. "Not always. I didn't actually have them until I was four, but then I didn't notice their presence until another year, at least. I shouldn't even have them now, but my mom died when I was young. The transfer of power between double demons is complicated, you see. However, because I was the only child, they came to me." She paused in order to give a small wave to Yusuke, who was waving both his arms in her direction.

"I think they were wary at first; they were scared because they couldn't remember anything." Ren's hand slowly lowered. "The first time I recall knowing they were a part of me happened one night when I suddenly awoke to the sound of crying. I searched the area around the residence but was confused when I found no one. That's when I realized the crying came from within me. Somehow I found my way into the "soul room" and saw them there. Hal was the one crying. Devil was backed into a corner, unsure of what to do. She doesn't feel like Halo does."

"You comforted them?" Kuwabara asked, folding his hands together.

"Yes. I held Hal and just talked to Dev. She wouldn't let me hold her, still won't. From then on, they were with me always." She grinned heartily at the boy beside her.

"You make them sound like they're the greatest thing in the world." He returned her grin with a cheeky one of his own.

"Well! What are you two over here whispering and giggling about!" Yusuke stood above them, smirking and wiping sweat off of his bare chest.

Rennie looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. Kurama stood nearby, smiling as usual. Hiei was a little further away, his hands shoved casually into his black pants. His cloak and black tank were thrown haphazardly over his shoulder.

"Nothin', Urameshi." Kuwabara suddenly got a sly look. "Other than how I kicked your butt in today's spar."

"Whaaat? Please, Orange-Top, you were cryin' within 5 minutes."

"Cryin'?! I wasn't cryin'! You were the one begging me to stop hitting you!"

"Man, Kuwabara, you're sure gettin' testy. Tryin' to show off for Ren?" Yusuke winked at her.

"That's it, Urameshi!"

Kuwabara tried to grab him, but the Spirit Detective disappeared and then reappeared some short ways away, sticking his tongue out. Kuwabara started to chase after him. A dust cloud billowed up behind them while they raced around the arena as if they were cartoon characters.

Kurama took Kuwabara's place on the bench next to Rennie. "How did you sleep?"

She thought briefly over the nightmare but forced it away. "Okay. It was strange sleeping in a bed again, but otherwise nice."

'_Liar…_' Halo sang quietly from within.

'I didn't lie. I told the truth. I slept okay,' Rennie thought stubbornly. She noticed Hiei's eyes shift to her, slightly narrowed.

Kurama felt an invading sensation press unto his mind. 'Hiei?'

'The girl is not being truthful.'

'Are you sure?'

'…Do you even have to ask, Fox?'

Kurama smiled and noticed Rennie watching him, her head tilted to the side. "Rennie, are you sure you slept well?" He stared at her in a scrutinizing fashion.

'How did he…?'

'Didn't I tell you before, you stupid girl?' spoke a familiar, bored tone in her thoughts.

She jumped, causing Kurama's scrutiny to change to concern. Of course! She'd already forgotten Hiei's "special" ability. 'Stupid, stupid girl!' she chastised, mentally smacking herself in the forehead. For a split second, she lost control and Devil's personality clashed with her own, making her send a glare in the fire apparition's direction. He glared back with such an intensity she knew she had lost, and she backed down with a sigh. Her shoulders slumped as she steadily met the waiting kitsune's gaze. "To answer your inquiry, I didn't sleep well because of a nightmare… It's a recurring one, but it's nothing serious. So please don't worry about it."

"I see… Well if you don't find it anything to be alarmed over, I won't mention it again."

"Thank you, Kurama."

"No need for thanks. After all, a nightmare never hurt anyone. Ah, that reminds me. Your cheek is still rather irritated looking." Before she could react, he had placed a purple leaf to her still swollen cheek. Immediately she felt her skin cooling down, and her eyes closed at the relief it provided. "Thanks, again."

"Kuramaaaa!" Kuwabara trailed off into a shout. "I think Urameshi broke somethin'!"

The kitsune looked out across the field to find the two boys looking at Yusuke's leg which was twisted to an odd angle that was obviously not natural. Rennie cringed and Hiei smirked. Kurama sighed with a shake of his head. "Just like children…" he muttered, a hand running through his red hair. Kuwabara called for him again, a bit more frantically this time. "Yes, yes… I'll be right back," he said. Then he started jogging away from Rennie, Hiei, and the stone bench, leaving the double demon and fire demon alone.

Wait, alone?

Blue eyes glanced nervously over to a certain socially awkward and usually scowling apparition. Hiei was looking off into the distance, most likely thinking of retreating into the forest for some peace and quiet.

'**What're you waiting for? Say something,**' Devil goaded.

Rennie didn't want to think a reply. She was certain Hiei would hear it. It wasn't a matter of figuring out what to say. She already knew, it was just how she would say it. "Hiei…" was how she started. He didn't acknowledge her. "I, uh, wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn't have thought the things I did." She waited for some sort of response. When the silence dragged on, she wondered if he even heard her. 'Is he ignoring me to such a point that he didn't hear me?' Her mouth opened to repeat the apology, but he stopped her with another narrowed glance.

"I heard you, fool. In no way am I deaf. I won't accept your apology. Just know that if you think such things again, I will put you to an early grave." He emphasized his threat by laying his hand on the hilt of his katana. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her for probably the millionth time since the day before.

"Right… I'll keep from giving you the opportunity to do that." She had a sudden thought and found she was too curious to keep from asking. "Say, Hiei? Can you hear Dev and Hal's voices when they're speaking?"

He thought momentarily of not answering her but knew if he didn't she would never stop pestering him. "Hn. Your demons are embedded into the layers of your soul. I can hear your thoughts because they are surface thoughts." He smirked and pointed to the white bandana she knew hid the Jagan. "With my third eye, I could peel back the layers and hear them with ease."

'_Someone sure has a giant ego._'

'**Hey, Rennie, tell him to use that eye of his right now.**'

'_Do I even dare to ask why?_' There was a pause and the double demon figured Devil was demonstrating. When she blinked, an image of Hal's disgusted face flashed behind her eyelids. '_Gross, Dev!_'

'**Hey, don't knock it 'til ya try it.**'

'…_Rennie, I want out of here… Right. Now._'

'Sorry, Hal,' said girl thought, stifling her laughter.

"Hiei! Would you please come over here and help us move Yusuke to the temple?" Kurama pleaded loudly from across the field.

The brunette watched him disappear and then reappear over with the others. Kuwabara supported Yusuke's upper body, Hiei took care of his legs, and Kurama made sure to keep the injured area from being agitated. The Duo Demon trotted over to them, wondering if there was anything she could do.

"Keiko's gonna kill me." Yusuke whistled, staring down at the bone coming through his skin. The area all around it had been torn open so much so that the muscles and bone could be seen. The leader of the Rekai Tantei wasn't entirely sure how it had happened, but he imagined his girlfriend was going to be livid.

"Maybe she won't be too angry," Rennie tried to assure him. She realized she had spoken too soon when they emerged from the trees. The four other girls behind Team Urameshi spotted them, dropped the laundry they'd been attending, and ran over.

"What happened?!" Botan exclaimed, opening the sliding doors.

"Had a bit of an accident, I'm afraid." Kurama pointed to the dining room table, and Kuwabara and Hiei set the detective down.

Yusuke could see the fury alight in his girlfriend's eyes. "Uhh, Kurama?" He reached out to grab the kitsune's t-shirt and pulled him over to stand in between him and Keiko's line of sight. "Save me."

The red-head motioned to Shizuru. "Please take Keiko outside for some air." The eldest Kuwabara sibling placed her arm around Keiko's shoulders and led her from the room out onto the front steps.

"Is there anything that Yukina and I can do?" Botan asked.

"Yes. I have set bones before so I will handle that. You and Yukina will begin the healing process as soon as I give word, so it will be a quick transition. Hiei, Kuwabara, I want you both to hold him down. And Rennie…"

"Yes!" She was alert.

"I want you to keep a hold on his hand."

"Whaaaat? C'mon, Kurama," Yusuke whined.

"Yusuke, this will be painful. No matter how tough you believe yourself to be, this will prove to be a challenge for you," Kurama warned.

"Yeah, yeah… I can handle it… I've had broken bones," he grumbled. Nevertheless, he lifted his hand and held it out for Rennie.

"It'll be okay. If you're in pain, just squeeze my hand. As hard as you want, okay?" She smiled.

He stared up at the ceiling, grinning. "You'll be the one squeezing my hand for comfort."

Taking his hand, she observed as Kuwabara moved to hold down his upper body and Hiei grabbed the lower half. Botan and Yukina were on standby, waiting for Kurama to give them the signal. The one everyone was waiting on finally stood over Yusuke's leg, putting on some gloves. He looked over to the Spirit Gun master who nodded, indicating he was ready.

The next few seconds seemed to pass by in a weird, slow quiet. Rennie watched Yusuke's expression go from the calm and collected cool she'd grown accustomed to seeing into a widened, unblinking, and blank stare. All of the blood drained out of his face, leaving him ghostly pale.

"Yusuke, breathe," she urged, although she did not hear her own voice. Then she squeezed his hand hard, hoping it would break him out of the shock. His chocolate brown eyes focused, he inhaled sharply, and squeezed her hand in return like it was a lifeline. The slowness that had taken over the room seemed to catch up. Rennie's hearing zoned back in just in time to hear the final snap of the bone being set. Yusuke's dull fingernails dug into her palm, breaking the skin.

Kuwabara leaned across to check up on his best friend. "Uhh… Kurama, you better hurry and get to the healing part of this process. Urameshi ain't lookin' so hot."

"Botan, Yukina, if you will," he signaled, wiping his brow. The two girls nodded and started feeding spirit energy into the still open wound.

Rennie watched the bone start to re-grow in places that had chipped and broken. She could only imagine what the pain of a bone growing back must feel like. "You okay?" she asked Yusuke, looking into his eyes again.

"Peachy," he mumbled, shuddering a bit.

At that moment, Genkai came strolling in through the front screen doors. In her arms was a brown paper bag, but as soon as she spotted Yusuke, she dropped it unceremoniously on the floor. "What the hell happened?" she barked. In a few surprisingly long strides for her stature, she was hovering next to his legs, staring at the halfway mended bone.

Yusuke grinned at her through the pain. "Nice to see you too, grandma."

Her faded pink hair swayed as she shook her head. She stalked out of the dining room, muttering something about "dimwits" and bandages. After a minute or two had passed, she returned with a first aid kit in hand. She set about laying bandages and antibacterial medicine on the table top.

Meanwhile, Yusuke was busy staring down his body at the girls. Their faces were covered in sweat, their eyebrows tense and their eyes focused. "Yo… Kurama, how much longer?"

The kitsune glanced at the wound and gave Botan and Yukina a signal to stop. "I think that it will be fine to stop there, ladies. We can't have you overexerting yourselves. It might be better to let the wound finish healing on its own. Genkai, would you happen to have a needle and thread in your first aid kit? He will need stitches to close up the gash."

The old woman already had the supplies in her hand and was on her way to sterilize the needle. "I'll do the stitches. The dimwit injured himself on my land. I might as well be the one to close him up."

"Hey, grandma, you aren't really gonna be the one to stitch me up right?" Yusuke asked a bit nervously. She didn't reply, but he knew her answer. He sighed and stared up at Rennie, a pleading look on his face.

She smiled apologetically. "If I had experience with stitches, I would sew it up for you." She felt worse when the boy slumped on the table in disappointment, accepting his fate. "I'm sure that Genkai is skilled in this sort of thing," the double demon tried to reassure him.

* * *

><p>It took Genkai twenty minutes to close up the gash, mostly because Yusuke kept squirming, but when she was done the lines of thread were neat and firm. They all helped him off of the table so he could test out the bone. He winced after putting pressure on it the first time, but once he'd stood for a few minutes, he seemed okay.<p>

"How does it feel, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked. He was standing next to his best friend, alert just in case he suddenly collapsed.

"It's kinda sore, but it's nothing I can't handle." Yusuke stretched his leg out and rolled his ankle experimentally.

"Yes, well, I believe that is enough strain for it today. The shock has worn off, but I imagine the exhaustion has yet to set in. You should try to lie down for now," Kurama advised.

"Fine. Kuwabara, help me to my room will you?" Yusuke asked lightly. Rennie could see that he was trying to play off the pain he must've really been feeling. She assumed he wanted Kuwabara along as a sort of precaution. Kuwabara grabbed Yusuke under the arm and slung the shorter boy's arm over his own shoulder. They shuffled slowly down the hallway towards Yusuke's bedroom.

In the meantime, Botan was fetching Shizuru and Keiko. Rennie figured that being outside on the porch for almost an hour was stressful for the detective's girlfriend. The minute she passed through the screen doors, she took off down the hallway without a word to the others. Everyone glanced at each other, knowing Yusuke was probably in for a world of hurt. Seconds later, Kuwabara padded back into the dining room.

"Was she angry?" Botan asked tentatively.

"Nah. I think she was more worried than anything." He shrugged. "I decided to leave 'em alone, though."

"That is likely for the best." Kurama nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "She'll keep a close watch on him."

"I guess today is a sit at home kind of day," Kuwabara summed up.

"It was already one of those days, baby bro," Shizuru reminded, heading towards the front doors with a cigarette in hand.

"Well, I suppose we shall just have to find something to do, now won't we, Rennie?" Botan smiled. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Sure! Er, how about everyone else? Does a movie sound okay?" Rennie looked at the room's other occupants, hoping they would be up for it.

"I would love to!" Yukina exclaimed, and of course, since she wanted to, Kuwabara nodded his head in enthusiasm. He grabbed her hand gently and pulled her to the love seat where the both of them started discussing which movie genre they wanted.

Genkai shook her head and left for her own bedroom, choosing to let her dimwitted youngsters have some time with one another.

Kurama simply sat down on the couch, letting his actions speak for him. Rather than leaving, Hiei sat on the end of the couch closest to the love seat. Everyone stared at him, wondering whether or not he had finally snapped. Kurama, on the other hand, just smirked mischievously to himself. The fire demon ignored the pointed stares and glared across the room.

"Well… erm, good to have you with us, Hiei," Botan commented a bit awkwardly.

The next few minutes following Hiei's out of character ways were spent deciding on a movie. After a few toss-ups of different titles, a horror movie Yukina was particularly interested in was chosen. Then, instead of allowing her to sit between Botan and Kurama, Rennie was forced by the ferry girl to sit next to Hiei. The couch could sit four people even if it was a tight fit.

Rennie expected him to get up and run the second they were squished together. However, he merely sat there, arms and legs crossed, eyeing the beginnings of the film. It was odd being so close to him, especially after all the death threats and glares. Their legs were pressed together because of the small space. She could feel his body heat seeping into her skin. Shivering slightly from the contact, she rubbed her arms.

Hiei, of course, had his own reasons for indulging in the "stupid" pastime of humans. Originally, he had been about to leave when Kurama made a point to remind him of something important. It made him grit his teeth just thinking of the fox's snarky tone.

'_Hiei,' Kurama had started out, his tone suspiciously innocent. _

'_Fox,' Hiei replied curtly. _

'_Why don't you stay and watch the movie?' _

'_I'd rather train than join in on a ridiculous human hobby.' Hiei rolled his eyes._

'_Well, if you insist, but I feel I should warn you about the customs that go with this ridiculous human hobby.' The red-head's innocent facial expression morphed into a smirk when Hiei raised an eyebrow. 'Couples generally like to watch movies together.'_

'_And?'_

'_Sometimes it isn't just couples. It might be a boy who likes a girl. The boy, say one with orange hair, would sit by the girl. The lights would be dimmed, as is custom in human standards, and the boy and girl would be next to each other in a darkened environment for the next, say, two hours.' _

_Hiei's eyes widened a fraction. The fox was talking about the oaf and his sister! _

So, he had stayed. Kurama had been right. The fool and Yukina were sitting next to each other, on furniture called a love seat of all things. He did have to give the idiot one thing. He would never say it out loud, but he was impressed (as minimal as it was) that the boy had not tried anything. They were about thirty minutes into the movie and yet Kuwabara was simply sitting there, comfortable just being beside Yukina.

'That's so adorable.' The thought was sudden enough to interrupt his own. He realized it was the girl and rolled his eyes. Obviously she had ignored his advice to keep the inner workings of her mind to herself. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her staring not so subtly at his sister and Kuwabara.

'_They are cute together. So innocent._' This voice was different, it was lighter and wiser. It didn't take him much to figure out that it was one of her demons. Hiei was confused but only for a moment. How could he hear her demon? He had been the one to explain to her that they were inside the layers of her soul; he would only be able to hear them with his third eye. The only solution he could come to was that their proximity, the fact that they were touching, was giving him access into her soul. The contact was enough that he could hear everything, even without his Jagan.

'**Woah! That was awesome!**' The third voice was a bit childish, more rash than either Rennie or who he presumed to be the one called Halo. She must have been excited by the horror movie. The antagonist of the film was in the process of torturing and cutting off the limbs of one of the characters. Hiei snorted quietly to himself. The gore effect was positively hilarious. 'The humans that created this have no clue what real torture is,' he thought to himself.

'_Bleh. All the blood coming from that guy makes me feel sick._'

'**You call yourself a demon, Hal? Jeez. A little blood never hurt.**'

'_That isn't a little, Dev! The guy is spurting!_'

Hiei smirked. The girl's demons were somewhat entertaining, at least. Having to sit next to her on the couch throughout this joke of a movie was proving to be worth it.

'**So, Ren,**' Devil began, mischievousness present in her tone, '**how does it feel?**'

'What do you mean?' Rennie was honestly confused.

'**Sitting next to Hiei.**'

Rennie choked suddenly, causing Botan to look at her with concern. "Are you all right?" asked the Grim Reaper.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she reassured.

'**Sorry,**' her darker half snickered. '**Didn't think I would catch you off guard.**'

'_Dev, you're so mean. Stop messing with her._'

'**I have to mess with her! It's my job, Hal.**'

'Since when has being mean to me been your job?' Rennie smiled.

'**Since you were five.**'

They continued on like that with Hiei listening all the while. He couldn't help but feel a slight curiousness. In demon world, he had heard of double demons existing, but this girl was the first he had met. The dynamic between her and her apparitions was an… interesting concept. The fire demon, however, was more interested in how strong the demons were. Halo had already been seen, and she seemed to be a defensive demon rather than offensive. So, it was Devil who he wanted to spar with. He would be the first to test the girl's strength.

'

* * *

><p>AN: There you go! Sorry for any mistakes I missed, it's two in the morning right now and I'm running on fumes. Hopefully it won't take me as long to get Chapter 6 out… It might take me a little bit to get into writing it. I've got some things coming up that will require my attention first. As I was writing this, I found myself revisiting the anime, especially episodes 89-90. They made me realize how much I adore Kuwabara and the relationship between all four of the guys. The emotion in the episodes involving Yusuke's second death just amazes me. So, I wanna know, which episode happens to be your favorite? Or favorites? Let me know in your review, guys! I love you all! Thank you for reading, favoriting and reviewing! Your support keeps me going!


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